Spectrum: The trend towards e-bikes continues unabated. That's good news for general health and the environment. Only the muscle-powered bike or walking is more environmentally friendly when it comes to getting around.
Yet there is always Criticism of the climate balance of electric bikes. The Zwickau-based manufacturer of retrofit motors Pendix is now countering this criticism with figures.
Not even 8 grams of CO2 per kilometer
The use of In terms of CO2 emissions, e-bikes are superior to traveling by bus and train. This is the result of, among other things, a Study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg, Also Figures from the Vrije University of Brussels for 2020 support this finding.
Accordingly, the emitted CO2 is with an e-bike between 7 and 7,8 grams per kilometer. With an electric car, the value is about 15 times as high. The bottom line is that e-bikes are superior to e-cars, buses and trains.
Transport routes are the Achilles' heel
The problem is and remains the production of e-bikes and especially the battery. According to Pendix, 345 kilograms of CO2 are generated here. However, a large part of the emissions does not come from production itself, but mainly from transport.
After all, bikes manufactured in the Far East first have to brought to Europe via the long sea route become. The raw materials required for production are currently still being obtained at great expense. Above all, cobalt, which is absolutely necessary for e-bike batteries.
Balance balanced after 165 e-bike kilometers
In terms of CO2, e-bikes quickly pay off. Especially when you leave the car for short trips. "After an average of 165 kilometers, which we cover with the e-bike instead of the car, the CO2 emissions of a battery are balanced", says Pendix Managing Director Thomas Herzog. The CO2 balance can be improved even further if as many e-bike components as possible come from Germany or Europe.