Electric Vehicles Start Up in Hong Kong

by Mr. Robert Gibson

Following the Government’s Budget announcements on Electric Vehicles (‘EVs’) many questions are being asked about them.

• When will we be able to buy viable EVs in Hong Kong?
• Given that marginal electricity generation in Hong Kong is likely to be from coal, do EVs lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions?

The October 2008 report by Arup for the Department of Transport in the UK. Its key findings include:

• For the UK’s mix of electricity supply EVs have the potential to offer significant carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions reductions compared to conventional petrol/diesel fuelled internal combustion engines. This applies over a full life cycle, taking account of emissions from power generation and emissions relating to production and disposal.
• Due to vehicle development lead times, mass production and volume availability of EVs is unlikely to occur before 2014 at the earliest.
• The wide spread roll-out and uptake of EVs after 2014 would require increased consumer confidence and education; improvements in battery performance and cost; charging infrastructure which keeps pace with demand; and stimulation of the market through appropriate incentives which encourage the uptake of low carbon vehicles. Without these a ‘Business as Usual’ scenario would prevail.
• Largely due to the high cost of batteries, the consensus is that EVs will cost more to produce than comparable existing vehicles for the foreseeable future. Over the medium term the whole-life running costs of EVs are expected to be lower than conventionally-fuelled alternatives, primarily due to differences in fuel prices. Currently private consumers buy on capital cost rather than running costs and so education will be required to raise awareness of this benefit.
• Pilot and demonstration projects will be critical to address the questions and concerns of all stakeholders involved in EVs in order to provide an evidence base for a possible future wider rollout of vehicles.

The report goes on to make a number of recommendations on action the UK Government should take to promote EVs.

It would be helpful to have a study for Hong Kong which builds on the attached study and similar ones from other countries to clarify the viability and the net environmental impact of EVs here.

Comments

[Ciara Shannon]

Robert-did you say given that marginal electricity generation in Hong Kong is likely to be from coal, do EVs lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions?

I can't answer that directly but a useful source: http://e2af.com/trend/090113_p1.shtmlCompared to internal combustion engine vehicles, electric vehicles offer excellent energy and environmental performance, such as the potential to both cut CO2 emissions and use renewable energies. Accordingly, they are powerful tools for meeting the CO2 emission regulations. A comparison of CO2 emissions per 1km travel produced the following results. The overall CO2 emissions for gasoline-powered vehicles and diesel-powered vehicles were 193g/km and 146g/km respectively. For hybrid-electric vehicles, these figures were 123g/km for gasoline-assisted HEVs, 89.4g/km for diesel-assisted HEVs, and 49.0g/km for electric vehicles (EV) (Figure 2).
Figure 3: A comparison of CO2 emissions between PHEVs and HEVs
　According to Toyota's trial calculations using its Prius model vehicle as the unit base of 1, CO2 emissions after travelling a distance of 25km (13km as an EV), for PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) were 0.96 in the U.S., 0.87 in Japan and 0.58 in France (Figure 3).

Useful if this could be in English!!

[Mr. TC Yee]

For business as usual in cities with inefficient coal generation, Robert would be right that higher demand (marginal increase) in electricity for EVs could have an impact on carbon emissions (and other emissions such as SO2 and NOx as well). Yet I am pleased to reply that:

1. Modern coal-fired generation is more efficient (HK based >30+ %) than ordinary cars with internal combustion (IC) engines (~20% depending on engine size and driving habits).

2. HKSAR Government has been working with the two local power companies to lower emissions and at the same time increase gas generation from 2010 onward with an interim target of 50% local generation from natural gas around mid 2010s and progressively higher thereafter. The (combined cycle) gas generation efficiency is typically in the range of >40+ % nowadays and is expected to be further improved in another 5 to 6 years. Overall, gas generation will incur about half less carbon dioxide emission comparing with coal generation, hence doubling the performance over car IC engines.

3. The most disturbing roadside emissions with little regulatory control that could be exercised for the transportation sector are actually Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and RSP (respirable suspended particles), especially in low speed or idling. They have been researched closely related to various forms of respiratory diseases. Modern coal and gas generation are able to cut down both NOx and RSP emissions more effectively than car engines. The well managed high sky dispersion of these pollutants from electricity generation will definitely help to improve downtown air quality if EV could gradually replace petrol/diesel cars.