Here’s an interesting stat from OilPrice.com:

According to a study, China’s electrification rate has hit 30%, significantly ahead of the U.S. and the EU and US where the electrification rate has plateaued at ~22% in recent years.

The study defines the electrification rate as the share of electricity in final energy consumption versus energy coming from fossil fuels. According to the study, the U.S. still leads the world in the electrification of buildings; however, China recently caught up to the U.S. and Europe in industrial electrification, and has overtaken both in the electrification of transport. In 2024, electric vehicles (EVs) made up approximately 47.9% of the total passenger car sales in China, a huge increase from 2020, when plug-in EVs accounted for just 6.3% of total sales. In comparison, electric vehicles accounted for less than 23% of new car sales in Europe over the timeframe.

I’m all in on electrification. For one thing, it reduces air pollution and carbon emissions even with our current energy supply mix, as I understand it. But it also allows us to substitute cleaner fuels for electric generation over time, starting with natural gas for coal and oil, and moving towards nuclear, renewables, and as an aspirational goal, maybe even fusion.

I’m not surprised the US is lagging on electrifying transportation, because the oil, auto, and highway lobbies are politically powerful and have money at stake. The regulated electric utility and nuclear industries don’t have the same political pull. (There is no particular reason oil couldn’t have been a regulated public utility.) It surprises me a little that the US and Europe are at the same level.