Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)

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Battery-Electric Vehicles

the Pathway to Pollution-Free Road Transport in the Global South and Mongolia?

Authors
Daniel Karthe1, 2, 3, *, Luisa F. S. Prates1, 2, Gantuya Ganbat3, Minjeong Choi1, Serena Caucci1, 2, Seoyoung Lim4, Lulu Zhang1, 5, Lili Wang6, 7, Jack O’Connor8, Christina Dornack2, Alexey V. Alekseenko1, Yubin Yang1
1United Nations University – Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES), Dresden, Germany
2Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
3Faculty of Raw Materials and Environmental Engineering, German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology (GMIT), Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
4Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco), Incheon, South Korea
5Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), Garching, Germany
6United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), Maastricht, The Netherlands
7School of Business & Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
8United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany
*Corresponding author. Email: karthe@unu.edu
Corresponding Author
Daniel Karthe
Available Online 25 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_10How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Battery electric vehicle (BEV); Energy transition; Lithium-ion battery (LIB); Pollution
Abstract

The transport sector currently accounts for more than 21% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, largely attributable to road traffic. The Paris Agreement is therefore in jeopardy without its decarbonization. Currently, the transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is the only technology that is fully market-ready. However, “zero tailpipe emissions” does not equal pollution-free transport. While BEVs eliminate local emissions from combustion, their environmental footprint extends beyond energy consumption. BEVs rely on large batteries requiring substantial amounts of raw materials, which have adverse effects on the environment during extraction and processing. The increased weight of BEVs can lead to higher particulate matter emissions from tire abrasion. End-of-life (EOL) batteries constitute hazardous waste unless treated in a safe, circular approach. Some advantages and challenges related to BEVs are greater in the Global South. Positively, air pollution prevention is a significant benefit in congested and highly polluted cities. The significant role of renewable energy sources in some of the Global South supports effective decarbonization. Negatively, raw material producing countries in the Global South bear much of the environmental burden of BEVs. Furthermore, EOL batteries constitute challenges for countries with poorly developed waste management, leading to considerable environmental pollution and health risks. Resource Nexus approaches can help guide sustainable pathways toward pollution-free road transport in the Global South.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)
Series
Advances in Engineering Research
Publication Date
25 December 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-928-5
ISSN
2352-5401
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_10How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Daniel Karthe
AU  - Luisa F. S. Prates
AU  - Gantuya Ganbat
AU  - Minjeong Choi
AU  - Serena Caucci
AU  - Seoyoung Lim
AU  - Lulu Zhang
AU  - Lili Wang
AU  - Jack O’Connor
AU  - Christina Dornack
AU  - Alexey V. Alekseenko
AU  - Yubin Yang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/25
TI  - Battery-Electric Vehicles
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 113
EP  - 127
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_10
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_10
ID  - Karthe2025
ER  -