How Green Technology is Driving the Auto Industry
Estimates show that the automotive industry is responsible for roughly 15 percent of global carbon emissions, or about eight billion metric tons per year. In recent years, however, the auto industry has taken great strides toward reducing its carbon footprint through new technology, including greater fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and zero emission vehicles. Let’s explore what’s driving this market, where we stand now, and what’s on the horizon.
What’s Driving “Green” Car Development?
Concerns over the environment and climate change lie at the heart of the move toward more green cars. After all, we’ve all become more aware about how cars contribute to global warming, climate change, and the destruction of our ozone layer. Those environmental concerns have spurred governments to pass more stringent regulations regarding fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions, and have increased consumer demand for more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Auto makers selling in the U.S. are primarily focused on meeting aggressive Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards imposed by the federal government. CAFE standards are intended to improve the fuel economy of cars and light trucks in an effort to reduce energy. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has set standards to increase CAFE levels over the next several years. Since CO2 is the natural by-product of the combustion of fuel, the increased standards would also address climate change by reducing tailpipe emissions of CO2. Those emissions represent 97 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
On the consumer side, there’s a rising awareness about carbon footprints and the dangers of hydrocarbon emissions. People increasingly care about protecting the environment and want to drive environmentally-friendly vehicles, even if those vehicles aren’t the cheapest choice on the lot.
How Auto Makers Are Meeting This Demand
To meet both the regulatory and consumer demands, automakers are heading down three paths:
•Increasing efficiency — Engines generate energy, and in most cars, a tremendous amount of that energy gets lost as heat from friction, instead of being used to propel a car. The goal here, then, is to produce more efficient engines that can eke out more miles from every gallon of gas. And cars are definitely performing better at using fuel efficiently and posting higher EPA ratings.
•Electrifying everything — Petroleum-electric hybrid cars are everywhere, and thanks to technological advances, they’re becoming more efficient and posting higher gas mileage numbers.
•Exploring alternative sources of energy — This can be anything from plug-in electric vehicles, to hydrogen fuel cell cars, to perhaps solar-powered vehicles (more on that later). The idea is to reduce our reliance on petroleum, which is both politically charged and environmentally unsustainable.
What the Future Holds
We’re all familiar with the gasoline-electric hybrids that have saturated the market in recent years, like the Toyota Prius (which was thebest-selling hybrid of 2016), and more recent entrants, like the electric hybrid Chevrolet Volt, and the luxury all-electric plug-in Tesla Model S (both of which were on that list of best-selling eco-friendly cars). But what comes next?
J.D. Power predicts that, by 2025, more than one-third of passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. will be equipped with alternative power trains and operated with alternative fuels.
But, that prediction largely hinges on whether or not President Trump repeals CAFE standards, as is the rumor. If Trump repeals the CAFE standards, it might shut down the movement toward more green cars.
If that doesn’t happen, there should be more movement toward alternative fuels. For example, zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell cars are in the pipeline at Toyota, Honda, Lexus, and other manufacturers.
Ethanol-blended fuel mixtures have also been for sale for quite some time, but look for the development of ethanol-powered electric cars, such as Nissan’s eBio Fuel Cell vehicle, which has carbon-neutral emissions.
Some experts even speculate that we’ll be driving solar-powered cars by 2025. An Australian company, EVX Ventures, is already working on one model, The Immortus, which has a post-apocalyptic vibe.
Whatever direction automakers take, it seems clear that green driving machines are here to stay.
