<Reporter Jang Se-man>



The solution to the greenhouse gas problem in automobiles has emerged as pollution-free and carbon-free vehicles such as electric cars and hydrogen cars.



But doubts remain.



It is said that there is no exhaust gas when driving, but the huge amount of carbon that comes out when making a battery, and besides, is it eco-friendly if it is electricity generated through coal power generation?



So, since the carbon emitted during vehicle operation is only a part, it is the so-called life cycle evaluation that the total amount of carbon emitted from the manufacturing process to the scrapping of the vehicle must be calculated.



Europe is promoting it step by step from next year, and we, who have to sell cars in Europe, are also going to revise the law this year.



Ahead of this, a European evaluation agency conducted a life cycle evaluation on 60 models currently on the market, and what was the result?



Jun Kim, who has been driving the hydrogen car Nexo for three years.



It was chosen because of its low fuel cost as well as its eco-friendliness that it does not emit carbon.



[Kim Jun/Nexo driver: (Hydrogen) meets and combines with oxygen O2, and with the energy generated (vehicle operation is performed), the exhaust is now water.

However , as



a result of analysis by Encap in Europe, the total amount of carbon emitted by Nexo throughout the entire process was 56 tons.



Among electric cars, emissions were more than 50% higher than the average of models with similar weight, and more than 5 tons more than the average of hybrids with an internal combustion engine.



The main cause of carbon emissions from hydrogen cars is the hydrogen used as fuel.

[Kim Gwang



-il/Secretary General of the Green Transportation Movement: (Nexo) generates hydrogen for nearly 70% of its emissions and fuel injection (after transportation and storage) accounts for most of its greenhouse gas emissions.]



It is not so-called green hydrogen made by electrolysis of water with wind energy, but gray hydrogen made from natural gas, so a large amount of carbon is emitted in the hydrogen production process.



As a result of the life cycle evaluation, electric cars were less successful than hydrogen cars, but there is still a long way to go.



In particular, even for the same electric vehicle, emissions vary widely within Europe depending on the proportion of coal or renewable power generation.



[Lee Seong-ho/Director of the Energy Conversion Research Institute: (When driving a car) Since there is a lot of carbon dioxide generated from fuel consumption, (car fuel) is really clean and clean depending on whether it is made of green energy or renewable energy (you can say. )]



In the end, it is difficult for electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles to achieve carbon neutrality without decarbonization of fuel energy sources.



It is urgent to reduce our dependence on coal-fired power through harmonization of renewable power generation and nuclear power plants and find a stable source of clean hydrogen.



(Video coverage: Kim Won-bae, video editing: Choi Hye-ran, design: Choi Jae-young, Kang Kyung-rim, Choi Ha-neul, Jo Soo-in)