In May, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the revived Moskvich plant would produce electric cars in the future. Plans to launch domestic production of electric cars were announced by KAMAZ, Kaliningrad Avtotor, and Lipetsk Motorinvest. Time will tell who will be the first, but for now the questions remain open: are electric cars so environmentally friendly, and do we need to switch to them at all? Alexander Kamashev, General Director of RENERA LLC (part of the Rosatom Fuel Company TVEL) and the general director of the company, told in an interview with RIA Novosti Pavel Zyuzin about why an electric car is still a "green" transport, what awaits the Russian market of electric vehicles, and how the batteries used in them will be disposed of.It.Charge" Dmitry Matviyevsky.
– A year ago, experts from the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago published the results of a study according to which the production of electric vehicles is 32% more harmful to the environment than cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE). Is the environmental friendliness of an electric car a myth?
Dmitry Matviyevsky:In fact, it's very simple. The production of some cars with internal combustion engines does leave a smaller carbon footprint than the production of an electric car, and according to some calculations it can be considered less "dirty". However, this advantage, on average, is leveled by electric transport after 60,000 kilometers of mileage. If an electric car travels 60,000 km, its operation becomes more efficient both economically and environmentally than cars on an internal combustion engine. This efficiency is obvious: we breathe exhaust from cars with internal combustion engines in the city, for internal combustion engines it is necessary to use various chemicals, liquids and other substances both during production and during operation, but the main point is that they harm a person directly and concentrated in his place of residence. The transition to electric vehicles, at least, shifts the negative impact beyond the city limits, to the level of the production cycle. And this is the absolute advantage of electric vehicles.
– Lithium is needed for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. There is no commercial lithium production in Russia yet, but Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel have announced plans to extract it in the Murmansk Region. RENERA also announced its participation in the project. Will Russia's own lithium production be economically justified?
Alexander Kamashev: Due to the active development of the electric transport industry, lithium has become a highly demanded metal, and now its cost is growing every day. So the previously impractical lithium mining and processing project is now becoming economically feasible. The Kolmozersk deposit was not chosen by chance – it is the largest deposit of lithium ores in Russia, about 20% of domestic reserves are located there.
– Is there an approximate deadline for the launch of the project?
A. K.: According to the timing, production at the Kolmozersky field may begin as early as 2026.
– Electric cars of the Kaliningrad plant "Avtotor" will run on batteries from "RENERA". You agreed on this last December. Have you established cooperation with someone else?
A.K.: Indeed, in March of this year, Rosatom, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Avtotor signed an agreement on the development of production and introduction of electric transport in the Kaliningrad region, and in 2023 we plan to see an electric car of Avtotor with our energy storage.
As developers and suppliers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, electric buses, trolleybuses, special equipment, we are closely monitoring the development of the market situation and are ready to cooperate with all representatives of the automotive business. Our company is negotiating with manufacturers of electric vehicles of all types.
Cooperation documents have already been signed with some companies, while others are in the works. For example, the lithium-ion battery of the company "RENERA" is installed on the Aurus line of cars. In May of this year, we started supplying lithium-ion batteries for trolleybuses of the Belarusian manufacturer BKM Holding, which will enter the routes of St. Petersburg this summer. Some Russian automakers are already testing new models on our lithium-ion batteries. We hope to complete them in 2023 and enter mass production.
In order to provide manufacturers with battery supplies, at the end of this year we will launch an assembly plant in Moscow, where operations for engineering and production of modules, packs and energy storage systems with a capacity of 150 MW/h per year will be organized.
– What to do with batteries containing toxic components after the end of their service life in an electric vehicle? How will the disposal of such batteries take place in Russia?
– D. M.: The topic of battery recycling will become relevant only in 15 years. Take, for example, the Far East, where electric cars are most common in Russia. On a ten-year-old Nissan Leaf, no one is going to change the battery now. The degradation of the battery during this time is about 15%. But even a battery with a degradation of 20% after its operation does not lose its value and can serve for another 15-20 years, for example, in the format of a stationary power storage device for the needs of households or businesses. After all, now almost everyone has a portable battery to recharge their phone, so, the battery from an electric car can be used as a powerful stationary power bank for several more years. Therefore, owners of electric cars will definitely not have to throw away the battery, it can easily be sold, and for good money.
– And yet, what will they do with batteries in Russia when the issue of their disposal becomes relevant?
A.K.: By 2025, Rosatom plans to create Russia's first production and technical complex for processing lithium-ion batteries in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In parallel with the opening of the plant, we plan to fully switch to work on the principle of a "full life cycle" and are already preparing for this, working out options with our partners. This means that all stages – from the extraction of raw materials to the production of lithium-ion cells, the assembly of batteries, their operation, recycling and disposal – will be fully within the responsibility of Rosatom State Corporation. Most recently, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, we signed an agreement aimed at creating tools for the recycling and reuse of spent batteries. We understand how our batteries are arranged, how they are operated, and we believe that an increase in battery life is possible more than twice. And this is not five years, but all ten. It is economical and eco-friendly. Spent traction batteries will be used in stationary energy storage systems, uninterruptible power supplies and fast charging stations for electric vehicles.
D. M.: In fact, there are already companies in Russia that are happy to take batteries for recycling, with electric vehicles – even with great pleasure, since this is a very large volume at once. But batteries from household appliances, small mobility facilities and others are also perfectly recycled. It is important to know here that any battery is a concentrated source of useful chemical elements that are of material value. And there are more and more such processing companies.
– According to Autostat, in 2021, residents of Russia bought 2,254 new electric vehicles, which is three times more than in 2020. Should we expect an increase in purchases of electric vehicles in Russia in 2022?
A. K.: Now sales of electric cars, of course, have fallen, simply because there are no electric cars on the market. Only a few units remained. European options are gone, they were quite expensive. There are Chinese variants, for example, JAC, there are supported by Tesla. I am sure that when a domestic line of electric vehicles appears in Russia, we will be able to accurately talk about much higher sales figures than now. In particular, the automaker Motorinvest had plans to bring its electric vehicles to the Russian market by the end of 2022. Avtotor has announced the start of production of electric vehicles under its brand next year. KAMAZ is also next in line. It is quite possible that new participants will appear.
– Amendments are being prepared to the legislation, which will oblige to install charging stations in all parking lots and parking lots. Will such a solution be able to increase the demand for electric cars among Russians in the near future?
A. K.: Of course, yes. It is worth noting that the creation of an electric filling infrastructure is not as capital-intensive as, for example, the construction of a network of gas stations throughout the country. There are different types of electric gas stations, but, in fact, this is a regular 220 Volt outlet. It is connected to the mains to supply sufficient power to charge the electric vehicle. In fact, wherever there is electricity, you can organize an electric filling station. Interesting, for example, is the experience of Norway, where a large number of points were placed on poles along the highways to connect cars to charging for free, and this led to an increase in the share of electric vehicles in the country.
– In May, RENERA and the Moscow Aviation Institute signed an agreement on cooperation in the development of Russian electric-powered air transport. What advantages will an aircraft powered by lithium-ion batteries have over aircraft powered by internal combustion engines? Is a complete transition to electric airplanes possible in the future?
– A. K.: RENERA is actively working on the introduction of lithium-ion batteries in electric transport and in the energy sector. At the same time, we try to look at the market more broadly and consider the use of electric traction and electric batteries in other industries, including shipbuilding and aviation, to be a promising direction. Their use in aviation will affect the improvement of the design, reducing the weight and dimensions of air transport, reducing operating costs, minimizing emissions into the atmosphere and the absence of noise – this is a promising direction.