Last year – 2023 – proved exceptionally impactful when it comes to global electric vehicle (EV) adoption as EV-driven energy demand rocketed more than 120 per cent compared to 2022.
Major changes are evident in Europe, the United States, and China.
Finbold found that the largest change in absolute terms took place in Europe and went from 11,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually to 28,000 GWh. In relative terms, the US saw the biggest relative change as demand rocketed 205.56 per cent.
Furthermore, the trend is expected to pick up the pace in the coming years and the world is expected to need 710,000 GWh to power its electric cars – nearly 632 per cent more than in 2023.
Additionally, although the US fell behind in recent years – and particularly in 2020 – it is expected to catch up in the coming 6 years and account for approximately one-third of the global EV electricity demand.
EV adoption, though significant, is not a skeleton key
Simultaneously, though the current impact of EV adoption – and the projected future impact – can’t be overstated, it is important to remember that these vehicles do not represent a skeleton key to the global green transition.
As co-author of the research, Andreja Stojanovic pointed out: “Electric vehicles alone do not provide a complete/comprehensive solution. A significant portion of the electricity used to power EVs is still produced from fossil fuels, and the extraction of lithium—a key component in lithium-ion batteries—remains a highly contentious issue.”
Nonetheless, the compounding effects of EV adoption and the broader transition to green energy are likely to be significant, if not sufficient, given the current rate of fossil fuel burning.
