Electric cars have been cleared through customs, and we should no longer go back to square one with a scenario again and exclusively provided by combustion engines. This is the idea of Nicola Armaroli, research director at Cnr and member of the national academy of sciences. The chemist, whose research is often focused on the energy transition, believes battery-powered cars are currently the best around.
“The automotive industry has already launched all over the world towards the electric because, quite simply, it is the best product. This is a great thing and I can explain it with a number. In the last twelve months I have traveled over 17,000 km with my electric car, consuming 2400 kwh, the equivalent of 250 liters of petrol. It is like saying that it does 69 km with a liter. Is there a 300 horsepower car that has these consumptions? This is the real reason why you no longer see advertisements for petrol or diesel cars – they are outdated. Fortunately, there is no going back. I don’t share this conservative instinct“, Armaroli told the Quotidiano. Who threw a jab at the hydrogen cars: “It may be useful in the long term, when we have a large surplus of renewable electricity to store in this carrier. It will be used where there are no easier and more efficient alternatives such as heavy transport. Certainly not about light transport: a green hydrogen car consumes more than three times as much as a battery car and there is no distribution and refueling network. It will soon enter the museums“.
Rather, the researcher raises his doubts on other topics, especially thinking about the world of work. “There is often a lack of professionalism. I meet heartbroken entrepreneurs who are ready to transition but cannot find skills on the job market. We have to invest a lot and immediately in technical education, from professional schools to universities, to equip the production system with the figures necessary for this inevitable transition“.
But the biggest issue remains that of investing in the energy of the future. Armaroli explains: “In Italy, the energy transition is faced with a strong conservative instinct. Sometimes it prevails over the existing, with the risk of wasting precious time. However, global warming costs much more. The damage caused by climate change is estimated in the trillions of euros. Our over-reliance on foreign countries is a fact, whether we are talking about Russian gas or metals for batteries. So what do we do? Having acknowledged the current situation, we must overcome resistance to give the country system, primarily the Italian manufacturing sector, the opportunity to innovate and remain competitive on an international level. If the Italian industry remains out of the ongoing decarbonization processes, is destined to succumb. Storage technologies, which allow energy to be accumulated to be used even when the sun is not there or the wind is not blowing, are making spectacular progress. If the Italian industry does not convert, it will be a guaranteed economic catastrophe“.
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