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Mateusz Strojek

Third-year student of engineering studies at the The Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology of the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences in the field of Renewable Energy Sources and Waste Management. Member of the "Bioenergy" Student Research Circle.

 
DOI: 10.33226/1231-2037.2020.8.1
JEL: Q21, Q31, Q42

Since many years, urban agglomerations are facing a growing problem of air pollution, which can lead to the smog formation. One of the main sources of these pollutants are cars with internal combustion engine, which emit undesirable compounds into the atmosphere (including particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide). In order to reduce the emission of pollutants in the cities, the use of eco-friendly transport means is preferred. A good solution may be the use of electric cars with high ecological potential, due to the lack of direct emissions and low noise levels. However, because of the need to cover an electricity demand, an electric car can contribute to the generation of indirect pollution.

The aim of this work was to analyse the amount of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere by an electric vehicle and its environmental impact on the local and global scale. For this purpose, the amount of energy consumed by an electric vehicle was determined and the emissions from a vehicle with a typical internal combustion engine were compared with the pollutants generated by different electric energy sources.

Keywords: electric vehicles; electricity; pollutants emission; urban smog