OCTOBER 2023AUTOTECHOUTLOOK.COM8IN MY OPINIONAccording to a report by the International Transport Forum, global transport activity is expected to double by 2050 compared to 2015 levels. With climate change a global concern, it's important that we produce more efficient vehicles that run on greener fuels. Material choice and innovations in metal cutting are supporting the transition to more environmentally friendly vehicles.While COVID-19 caused a short-term reduction in transport activity, vehicle use is still set to rise over the coming decades as the global population increases and economic development continues. Producing more vehicles to meet increasing demand is inevitable --the real challenge is making them greener. The International Energy Agency (IEA)reports that transport already accounts for 24 percent of direct CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, with road vehicles accounting for nearly three-quarters of this figure.The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognizes the importance of lowering the transport sector's emissions and thus released its Climate Action Pathway for transport in 2021. The UNFCCC's vision is that, by 2050, passenger and freight transport will be completely decarbonized following a shift to more sustainable vehicle technologies. This shift is broken down into transitioning to zero-emission modes of transport and increasing vehicle efficiency.The EV evolutionAmong zero-emission modes of transport are electric vehicles (EVs), which executive director at the IEA, Fatih Birol, says, "have an indispensable role to play in reaching net-zero emissions worldwide."By using electricity, especially from sustainable sources, from the grid to recharge batteries that power electric motors, EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions and are thus a more environmentally friendly option than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.According to the IEA's Global EV Outlook 2021 report, there were 10 million electric vehicles on the world's roads at the end of 2020, and EV registrations increased by 41 percent that year. While EVs are clearly on the rise, their adoption can be accelerated further by overcoming range anxiety, or the fear that the vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination.And range is not just the responsibility of the battery. In addition to a more robust charging infrastructure and improvements to EV battery design, every element of a vehicle needs to be made lighter. An EV with a lower weight requires less energy to travel a given distance and can therefore go further on a single charge, increasing its range.By Eduardo Debone, Senior Manager, Automotive Offer Management, Sandvik CoromantAUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING: DECARBONIZING THE GLOBE'S ROADSEduardo Debone
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