Everyone knows that wind and solar have significant carbon footprints because of the energy and materials that go into the manufacture of their components. It’s why research continues on how to get that footprint down. Emily Mercer at NREL describes research there that has developed a glue, used to hold a wind turbine blade together, made of resin made from plant waste using a low-energy process, and is easily recycled. In contrast to the current … [Read more...]
France is subsidising made-in-EU EVs with low carbon footprints. Europe must follow
Last year, France announced new green eligibility rules for awarding subsidies to EVs. Starting this year, an incentive of €5,000-€7,000 will only be awarded to electric cars with a production carbon footprint below 14.75 tonnes of CO2. It’s a first in environmental policymaking which the EU should be delivering across the region, says Lucien Mathieu at T&E. And not just for environmental reasons. It will promote EVs made in Europe where … [Read more...]
Draft EU rules on Battery lifecycle decarbonisation: close the loopholes!
Draft rules mean battery manufacturers selling into Europe will have to report the product’s entire carbon footprint, from mining to production to recycling, as early as July 2024. That data will then be used to set a maximum CO2 limit for batteries to apply from the end of 2027. This is a big step forward, says T&E, addressing concerns over battery carbon footprint and recycling, and it also covers environment and human rights. But T&E … [Read more...]