The E-Mission. Electric Mobility and the Environment
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The e-Mission. Electric Mobility and the Environment. »Electric cars run with zero emissions.« »So e-cars that run on green power produce no CO2 at all?« »But won’t old e-cars create a new waste problem?« Dr. Rudolf Krebs Wolfram Thomas Group Chief Officer for Group Chief Officer for Electric Traction the Environment, Energy and New Business Areas Change is coming. Not only out on the road … We are on a mission – an e-Mission, where “e” stands for electric. and resources offer the best long-term prospects? What is the best Electric mobility is on its way – electric mobility from Volkswagen. way of minimising manufacturing emissions for electric compo- Electric powertrains hold the key to long-term sustainable mobility. nents? And above all: how will the electricity to power the electric Fleet trials have already been successfully completed. And the first cars of the future be generated? And how will this affect the overall volume-production all-electric vehicles of Volkswagen Group will environmental footprint of electric mobility? soon be taking to the road. Volkswagen has designated 2013 the Year of the Electric Car. But get- This brochure sets out our answers to many of these questions. Be- ting an electric vehicle on the road is only one side of the coin. Elec- cause we are not only looking to build electric cars. We will also be tric vehicles from Volkswagen need to form part of an approach that delivering responsible solutions that address the wider implications takes a wider range of issues into account. Volkswagen stands for res- and infrastructure of electric mobility. Obviously an electric car is ponsible business practices towards its employees, towards society emission-free at the point of use. But for Volkswagen, the responsibi- and towards the environment. Ultimately, our aim is to become the lity does not stop there. We are raising the bar substantially in terms world’s most eco-friendly automaker. of sustainability. Our aim is to ensure that electric mobility is carbon- neutral over the entire vehicle We are well aware that elec- life cycle. tric mobility is more than We are raising the bar substantially In other words, targeting zero just a new form of propul- emissions is our e-Mission. sion. It is also one that will in terms of sustainability. The e-Mission is based on our massively change the car as life-cycle-oriented approach to we know it, the way it is used and the way it is manufactured. New re- environmentally sustainable product development, which is firmly … but also in the way sources and materials will be required, from lithium for the batte- anchored in our corporate principles. This approach highlights not ries to neodymium for the electric motors. Production systems will only the more familiar environmental impacts of the car, but also the have to be restructured and employees will have to be trained to work less obvious ones, impacts which at first glance might appear unrela- with new electric technology and components. ted to the automobile and road traffic. Particularly at a time of farrea- we think. In other words, we are facing an automotive sea change. Electric mo- ching change in the automotive industry, this work throws up impor- bility is changing the way we think. We will have to think hard, for tant and fascinating challenges, the most exciting of which are set example, about fundamental questions such as: what raw materials out in this brochure. Dr. Rudolf Krebs, Wolfram Thomas 2 3 »Electric cars run with zero emissions.« But electricity doesn’t grow on trees. 4 5 g CO2/km However, if the electricity is ge- Electricity has the power. nerated entirely from renewable sources, emissions show a steep fall. Wind power has a footprint But for electric cars, some kinds of just 1 g CO2/km. These emis- sions are generated during the production and servicing of the of power are better than others. turbines. 8Electricity first has 8to be generated – using either renewable or fossil feed- stocks. And because electricity genera- tion inevitably produces CO2, it follows Wind energy is one of the big hopes of the future for electric vehicles. The annual output of that electric cars have a carbon footprint too. Based on the European generation a single 2-MW wind turbine would be enough to keep over 4,000 electric cars charged for a mix, this footprint works out at an ave- year, assuming an average annual mileage of 10,000 kilometres. rage of 88 g CO2/km. More background on the CO2 g CO2/km statistics can be found at: www.volkswagenag.com > Sustainability and Responsibility. Renewable electricity Charging infrastructure Swarm power Electric cars are emission-free at the point of use. But In China, it would emit 184 grams of CO2 per kilome- VW Kraftwerk GmbH made green power For Volkswagen there is more to electric In future, e-cars could further assist the en- how do things look when we trace the electricity back tre, almost twice as much as a fuel-efficient diesel mo- available for the German fleet trials of the mobility than building electric vehicles. We ergy revolution by taking on an additional to its source? Do we even know where the energy del. The same electric car charged at an average electric Golf in 2011/2012. This 100% renew- also look at wider issues such as the char- role as energy storage buffers. Wind energy, we’re putting into electric cars comes from? German household power socket would lead to CO2 able electricity is sourced for example from ging infrastructure. The ideal solution here for example, is not always available when it’s Some of us might simply say the electricity comes from emissions of around 112 grams per kilometre. hydroelectric power plants in the Alps. Cer- is a garage- or carport-installed wallbox needed. So cars recharged overnight with a socket in the wall. And indeed, it can often be diffi- However, if that electricity was sourced exclusively tificates of origin for this power were is- charger. 1wind energy could feed back some of this cult to be more precise than that. After all, each coun- from wind turbines, those emissions would fall to no sued by the TÜV NORD technical specifica- buffered electricity. Volkswagen is working try and region has its own generation mix. For exam- more than one gram per kilometre. tion body. The Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg has its closely with partner companies and research ple a typical compact-class electric car running on the Audi AG is investing in an offshore wind own on-site electric charging station. This establishments to develop appropriate solu- average European electricity mix would emit 88 g CO2 For Volkswagen, therefore, it is clear that the goal turbine project in the North Sea. These tur- pioneering facility generates its own power tions. In another approach to decentralized per kilometre. This is less than most combustion- must be to charge electric cars solely from regenera- bines are currently generating around from wind and solar energy and stores it in “swarm” power, Volkswagen EcoBlue com- engined vehicles, but not much less. tive sources. And the proof that green power is indeed 53 GWh of power a year. This amount of a state-of-the-art battery system. bined heat and power plants could likewise one hundred percent physically generated renewable power would meet the requirements of a be used as a way of meeting peak demand. In some countries, though, the picture is very diffe- power can be provided by certificates of origin. medium-sized city for a whole year, or keep These can be operated on natural gas or bio- rent. China, for example, produces more than three almost 30,000 electric cars running for gas, and can therefore make a significant quarters of its electricity from coal, and the USA In sum, to offer a truly eco-friendly solution in terms 10,000 kilometres. contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. around half. So an electric car charged from the natio- of overall emissions – and not just at the point of use – nal grid in one of these countries actually generates electric cars must be powered by electricity from more CO2 emissions than a petrol-engined car. renewable energy sources. 6 7 »So e-cars that run on green power produce no CO at all?« 2 But they don’t fall from the sky either. 8 9 The Volkswagen Group is aiming to make its production operations 25 per- g CO2/km cent more eco-friendly by 2018. In concrete terms, these cuts will relate to energy and water consumption, emissions and waste. For more information, see www.volkswagenag.com > The Group > Strategy. 74 With our green factory concept, Building a car requires a lot of we are aiming to reduce CO2 energy. At the current state of emissions at our factories by 25% the art, each electric car has al- for every vehicle produced. And ready generated 74 g CO2/km by collaborating with our part- before it even hits the road. ners in the supply chain, we can extend this goal to all stages of the production process. Zero-emission production. The green factory. 55g CO2/km The evening sun bathes the rooftop solar panels in a fiery red glow, as the wind rotates the wind turbines, rustles the leaves in the “energy-wood” plantation and ripples the surface of Energy strategy ning, the Volkswagen Chattanooga By reducing the weight of some com- the rainwater retention basin. Sometimes there can be something almost romantic about a plant became the first and only auto- ponents by as much as 36%, signifi- low-carbon factory.