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Choose green power Sustainable driving begins at the power socket

08/26/21
Volkswagen ID.3
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Volkswagen has committed itself to the Paris climate agreement. Which is why the company delivers ID. Family vehicles to customers with a carbon-neutral balance. In order that electric vehicles remain carbon-neutral during their usage phase, they must be charged with green electricity. To ensure that this is in good supply, Volkswagen supports investments in the generation of additional green electricity.

Sustainable electric mobility begins at the socket

It is true that the greener the electricity mix, the greener electric mobility is. According to the eco-balance published by Volkswagen, an ID.3 powered exclusively with green electricity already has a better carbon balance than a comparable vehicle with a combustion engine – starting at around 56,000 kilometres. With the current European electricity mix, this happens at around the 125,000 kilometre mark. The Volkswagen brand has set itself the goal of – by 2030 – reducing the average carbon emissions of the European fleet by around 40 percent compared to 2018. The electricity needed to operate an ID. accounts for half its carbon footprint. To neutralise this, Volkswagen is launching a two-pronged approach to secure the necessary amounts of green electricity

Volkswagen Way to ZERO Convention

Charging opportunities at home and on the road

The approach: Volkswagen is assuming responsibility for making additional green electricity available. The onus is on drivers to charge their ID. vehicles with green electricity where possible. There are currently a variety of charging scenarios that already provide clean solutions: for example, the TÜV Nord (German technical inspection body) certified Volkswagen Naturstrom® from subsidiary Elli, which supplies green electricity for the home filling station. But many charging stations such as the high-power stations of the premium partner IONITY offer green electricity throughout Germany.

Volkswagen Way to ZERO Convention

First green electricity project launches in 2022

There is as yet no blanket coverage where green electricity is concerned. Although Volkswagen assumes that 60 percent of electricity needed for charging is already supplied by renewable energies, it estimates that around 7 terawatt hours (TWh) of green electricity will be required by 2025 to power the ID. Family, among others. To secure additional capacities in wind and solar farms, Volkswagen is working together with the energy industry and financing projects for generating additional green electricity. The first project of this kind involves a photovoltaic power plant in Germany with a total annual capacity of 170 million kilowatt hours. The facility is being realised as Germany’s currently largest independent solar project in Tramm-Göthen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which does not receive any subsidies. Once the power plant is up and running at the end of 2021, a total of almost 420,000 modules will convert sunlight into electricity.

Volkswagen at the IAA MOBILITY 2021

Volkswagen ID.5 GTX

As part of the IAA MOBILITY 2021, Volkswagen is also focusing on an important topic: Neutral carbon balance with the Volkswagen Way to ZERO. We talked about sustainability in connection with e-mobility with Emilia Schüle and the power couple Andrea Sawatzki and Christian Berkel.

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This topic was first published by Volkswagen Newsroom on 04/29/21.

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© Volkswagen 2021

The specified fuel consumption and emission data have been determined according to the measurement procedures prescribed by law. Since 1st September 2017, certain new vehicles are already being type-approved according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), a more realistic test procedure for measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Starting on September 1st 2018, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) will be replaced by the WLTP in stages. Owing to the more realistic test conditions, the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions measured according to the WLTP will, in many cases, be higher than those measured according to the NEDC. For further information on the differences between the WLTP and NEDC, please visit www.volkswagen.de/wltp.

We are currently still required by law to state the NEDC figures. In the case of new vehicles which have been type-approved according to the WLTP, the NEDC figures are derived from the WLTP data. It is possible to specify the WLTP figures voluntarily in addition until such time as this is required by law. In cases where the NEDC figures are specified as value ranges, these do not refer to a particular individual vehicle and do not constitute part of the sales offering. They are intended exclusively as a means of comparison between different vehicle types. Additional equipment and accessories (e.g. add-on parts, different tyre formats, etc.) may change the relevant vehicle parameters, such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics, and, in conjunction with weather and traffic conditions and individual driving style, may affect fuel consumption, electrical power consumption, CO2 emissions and the performance figures for the vehicle.

Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official specific CO2 emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the “Guide on the fuel economy, CO2 emissions and power consumption of new passenger car models”, which is available free of charge at all sales dealerships and from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, D-73760 Ostfildern, Germany and at www.dat.de.