Electric cars are not as good as they seem and the Hong Kong government has a lot to do to manage their growth.
Firstly, cars are not totally electric; in Hong Kong, they are primarily coal-fired cars as burning fossil fuel is the prime source of electricity used to charge them.
The average lithium ion battery is typically made of 7,000 or so cells and weighs over 60kg and uses nickel, cobalt and manganese among other materials. The extraction of these metals is highly polluting and there is a shortage of ethically sourced metals such as cobalt, which is primarily sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A Swedish study has estimated that the production of an average 100kW battery produces 17.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of over eight years of emissions from a conventional car.
What will happen at the end of the batteries’ life? I have talked to Tesla in Hong Kong and they advise they have no programme in place for the disposal or recycling of batteries at the end of their life.
The Hong Kong government has no programme in place. This is not as simple as the recycling of lead acid batteries which is safe, easy and widespread.