Electric Cars & water shortage

Electric cars & the myth of green energy

Electric cars are full of microprocessors, and to produce a microprocessor, a lot of water is required. Taiwan, as a major producer of semiconductors, is a prime example. The machines that produce semiconductors need to be cleaned at every step of the production process.

According to industry standards, no less than 100 litres of water are required to produce just one microprocessor!

Although some of it is recycled, high demand for fresh water and the worst drought in 60 years have prompted some Taiwanese companies to rely on water trucks. The production of more and more sophisticated microprocessors increases the demand for water. A prolonged drought can have an impact on the global economy. According to the most recent figures, Taiwan produces nearly 10% of the global demand for microprocessors. South Korea, which is also increasingly affected by periods of drought, accounts for 15%.

Hydrogen production increases the demand for water also, thus hydrogen is not even a viable alternative. One litre of synthetic fuel requires about 1.4 litres of water. If this fuel must be produced from green hydrogen generated by renewable energy sources, the amount of water required could rise to 70 litres per litre of synthetic fuel.

Humanity consumes over 100 millions barells of oil each day!

At approximately 159 liters per barrel, do the maths and you soon realise that there isn't enough fresh water on Earth for that level of consumption.
In addition, in some cases, large amounts of water are also needed for the supply and maintenance of renewable energy sources, such as solar power plants. In the future, the demand for water will therefore be stimulated not only by population growth and the associated increase in food demand, but also by the greening of the economy. We might soon find out that the supposed “clean energies” are not so clean after all!