Marginal in 2015, electrically assisted bicycles are increasingly popular. Does this new mode of transport fulfill its ecological promises?
Besides walking, there is no more ecological means of transport than cycling. Durable, economical, easily repairable, a bicycle has a low carbon footprint which can be amortized over several years. But, “with its engine and its battery, does the bicycle in its electric version remain ecological? », asks Jean-Philippe Proulx.
In 2020, one in four bicycles sold in Quebec was electrically assisted (VAE), according to Vélo Québec. If you bought one to ride the wave during the pandemic, but it was only used for a few trips to the convenience store, your carbon footprint certainly hasn’t been reduced. However, if it allows you to leave the car aside for several trips, the environment benefits.
If used regularly, an electric bicycle1 is approximately 19 times less polluting than a car over its life cycle, according to data from a study carried out in 2021 by Anne de Bortoli, researcher affiliated with Polytechnique Montréal and responsible for of the research center on carbon neutrality within CIRAIG.
However, its carbon footprint is around 30% greater than that of a standard bike with an aluminum frame. “We still remain at very low levels [of greenhouse gas emissions],” puts the researcher into perspective.
Including all GHG emissions linked to manufacturing and use over the entire life cycle (20,000 km), the electric bike emits approximately 13 grams of eq. CO2 per kilometer traveled. The automobile, approximately 200 to 250 grams of eq. CO2/km per person. The ordinary aluminum bike, 10 grams of eq. CO2/km. The ordinary bike with a steel frame, 3 grams of eq. CO2/km.
The carbon footprint of an electric bike may not be where you expect it to be. The majority of emissions (94%) come not from its energy consumption, but from its manufacturing, notably that of the aluminum frame, often produced in China, where the energy used has a higher carbon footprint than the Quebec hydroelectricity. Thus, the most economical electric bike is this standard bike that we already use and to which we add electric assistance (retrofit).
It is therefore not the battery that weighs heavy, despite the environmental issues linked to metal extraction.
For a 20kg aluminum bike made in China, frame production emits 181kg eq. CO2, that of the battery, 20 kg eq. CO2, and that of the engine, 37 kg of eq. CO2, calculates Anne de Bortoli.
“There is a lot of attention paid to batteries, but you have to realize that between the battery of an electric bicycle and that of an electric car, there is an order of magnitude of 100 on their respective mass,” notes Mrs. de Bortoli.
Battery life has improved since the first electric bikes were put on the market, notes Julien Levesque, director of electric bike technologies and development at Cyclo Chrome.
However, the trend among manufacturers is not towards the repairability of components, he notes. “More recent generation designs are even made explicitly to deter repair. Manufacturers start from the perspective that no one but them could safely work on it. What is wrong. A well-trained repairman can make durable and safe repairs. » Provided you have access to the parts.
For many entry-level electric bikes ($2,500 and under), “finding replacement parts is a real challenge,” adds the man whose shop accepts to repair bikes of all brands, at the cost of “a lot of resourcefulness.”
At E2-Sport, a store specializing in the sale of electric bicycles, Anthony Marier regularly encounters the dismay of customers seeking to repair their bicycle which was purchased online or in supermarkets. “This is the current scourge that poorly represents the electric bike,” he laments.
However, it is not Law 29 (on the durability and repair of property) which will correct the situation. In a brief presented during consultations on the bill, Équiterre requested that the guarantee of proper functioning required from manufacturers apply to VAEs, a proposal which was not accepted.
“We hope in the industry that the legal framework will eventually be adapted,” says Julien Levesque.
Nevertheless, the potential of electric bicycles in the decarbonization of transport is undeniable. According to an Équiterre report, between 18% and 25% of automobile trips could be transferred to VAE in Greater Montreal.
“The electric bike is a wonderful opportunity, especially in a North American context where we still use cars a lot,” says Anne de Bortoli. Changing a car journey for an electric bike journey is absolutely and unquestionably, without question, an excellent gesture for the planet. »
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