Are EVs really 90% thermally efficient?

    EV makers and their proponents, many of which work in government institutions often use the phrase "research has shown", which is followed by claims of how good EVs are for society.  Whenever I hear or read that phrase I flash back to the 1960 and remember the TV spots that had serious actors dressed in lab coats explaining how healthy and safe smoking was. Below is a similar pitch about EVs, this one was made by Marta Moses who writes for an electric power company in the United Kingdom.

    Marta explains "With no tailpipe, pure electric cars produce no carbon dioxide emissions when driving. This reduces air pollution considerably."  You would think a public relations person for an electric power company would know that generating electricity even with nuclear, wind, and solar emits significant CO₂.

    However, she goes on to write, "Electric cars are far more energy efficient (85-90% efficient) than internal combustion engine cars (17-21%), which means that they use less energy to get you from A to B.  Less energy used means less produced, which in turn means less CO₂ emissions produced by non-renewable energy sources and the wider energy supply chain."

    Let's look at a few facts from the real world.  The electricity produced by the world's electric grid for this sample year was 18,307 TWh. This is according to the  International Energy Association.  This graph shows the output of all the different types of power generators divided by what was consumed.  This includes nuclear, wind, and solar, it shows that the average thermal efficiency of the world's grid is 31.5%.  

    Below is a graphic that takes that 31.5 % and plugs in the efficiency losses admitted to by the industry. However many third-party investigators consider them to be conservative.   These include losses from charging, extraction, drive train,  cooling, and auxiliary losses.  

    How is this significantly different than the 17-21% Ms. Moses cited as the thermal efficiency of IC-powered cars?  Of course, hybrids like the Prius are over 40% thermally efficient or double a typical EV perhaps that is why they are selling so well. 

     As noted in Ms. Moses' comments above EV proponents seldom count the CO₂ caused by the charging of their EVs.  

According to Tesla  According to  "dangerous pollution" that only petrol-powered cars emit.  Then they go plug into what most health-related organizations call "the most deadly energy produced on Earth," electricity from the world's electric grid.  Putting more load on the world’s electric grid is poisoning the environment and people’s health!