Electric Mobility Shifts from Theory to Practice, Gaining Momentum

Public policies for electric mobility have increasingly guided governments, companies and institutions to seek measures to encourage the use of less polluting and more energy efficient means of transport. In Brazil, researchers are increasingly looking for solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. 

In this context, the USP Polytechnic School developed work that compares the CO2 emissions of fully electric cars and traditional cars, using ethanol, and an internal combustion car. The results demonstrated the importance of including research in the decarbonization process, as they showed that the emissions from a car running solely on ethanol are very close to those of an electric car, which demonstrates the importance of including Brazilian research in the decarbonization process. .

Roberto Marx, professor at the Department of Production Engineering at the Polytechnic School (Poli) of USP and coordinator of the Urban Mobility Strategies Laboratory (Mobilab), explains the advances made by Brazil and other countries in this sector. 

Electromobility in the world 

According to Marx, in some regions of the world, electric mobility is no longer just a topic of discussion and has started to have a practical application. “Particularly in Europe, both in terms of individual mobility – cars for individual and private use – and also in terms of public transport, electromobility is a priority. Industries, governments and all levels are already mobilizing, and it is possible to observe great growth in the use of electric cars.”

In the United States, as the professor explains, electric cars have been sold more consistently. China, which is currently the most prominent in the use of this type of technology, has set a top priority for electromobility and is the world leader in sales of these automobiles. According to Marx, this scenario is causing great concern about economic competitiveness, especially in Europe and the United States. 

What can be done, locally – in countries or larger regions – is to take some measures, but the influence and role that Chinese industries will have, and already have, in this field is unequivocal. In the Brazilian case, there is also concern among companies and associations about the entry of Chinese car manufacturers.

The technology 

The transition process between electric and fuel-powered cars is not simple. As Marx explains, electromobility tends to gain more and more space around the world, leaving traditional structures based on internal combustion engines with less room for return. “The electric motor, from a technological point of view, is much simpler and much less complex in relation to the number of items, in addition to being much more modularized than conventional motors”, highlights the professor.

However, this change causes major problems, both for companies – which will have to adapt to manufacturing technology and eventually abandon much of the existing equipment – ​​and also for people who work in these places, who will have their jobs put at risk.

Governments, in the professor’s view, have an important role in not slowing down technological advances and not letting the negative impacts of the transition affect automobile production too strongly. In Brazil, for example, the automotive chain represents 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “This is a very important industry from the point of view of financial movement and job creation, so it is up to governments, in some way, to minimize the negative effects.”

Electromobility in Brazil 

Currently, there are no very clear public policies regarding this topic in Brazil, but there are already studies and initiatives underway. For the professor, on the environmental issue, the emphasis does not need to be only on the electrification part, but also on an effort to accelerate the decarbonization process. The country is a pioneer in the development of ethanol, which already contributes to lower emissions of polluting gases.

From an environmental and economic point of view, there needs to be a government effort to combine incentives for decarbonization with the various technological alternatives that exist for this – taking advantage of the productive potential of Brazilian ethanol, for example. In this scenario, it is necessary to understand the different points of view of the entities involved in the context of changes and decarbonization processes, such as institutions, workers’ unions, business associations, car manufacturers, the auto parts sector and the entire ethanol production chain. Academics also look for alternative scenarios for this process.