Volkswagen continues to lead in the expansion of renewable energy in Europe, currently supporting 26 green power projects across nine countries. Since 2021, these projects have contributed a total of approximately three terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity to the European grid, enough to power about 800,000 households annually. With these efforts, Volkswagen plays a significant role in decarbonising mobility, helping its ID. models achieve carbon-neutral operation.
“We plan to increase our renewable energy investments each year, aligning them with the growth in sales of our ID. models,” said Andreas Walingen, CSO and Head of Strategy for Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “By expanding solar and wind farms across Europe, we’re ensuring our customers can charge their ID. vehicles with clean energy. This reflects our broader sustainability commitment, extending beyond vehicle electrification.”
Notable projects include a solar park in northern Portugal, which generates over 60 GWh annually, and a wind farm in Djupdal, Sweden, producing more than 1,000 GWh per year. Volkswagen is supporting 18 photovoltaic plants and eight wind farms in Spain, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland. These projects typically run for a decade and ensure energy is sourced from certified renewable sources.
In 2024 alone, Volkswagen’s green power projects generated approximately 1.1 TWh of electricity—equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 300,000 households or the electricity needs of the current ID. fleet on European roads not yet using renewable power.
Volkswagen’s green energy projects are essential to shifting the approximately 40% of ID. vehicles’ charging from ‘grey’ electricity to net carbon-neutral energy. Over a 10-year period and 200,000 km of driving, these projects will help Volkswagen customers fully decarbonise their ID. models, enhancing the potential of electric mobility in reducing CO2 emissions.
Green Power Significantly Reduces the Carbon Footprint of ID. Models
Volkswagen drivers can actively influence the carbon footprint of their vehicles by choosing renewable energy for charging. Life cycle analyses for models like the ID.4 Pro demonstrate that charging with green power drastically lowers emissions. Compared to a similar diesel model, the ID.4 Pro produces about 25% less CO2 over its lifetime. When charged exclusively with EU green electricity, this figure improves to a 50% reduction. The carbon footprint of an ID.4 Pro charged using the EU green electricity grid mix becomes lower after approximately 66,000 km, compared to 97,000 km with conventional grid energy.
Charging Green Power – Multiple Options for ID. Drivers
Volkswagen customers have access to a vast pan-European charging network with over 750,000 charging points, including 4,000 IONITY rapid chargers powered by renewable energy. Since May 2024, Volkswagen’s Elli brand has also offered the Volkswagen Naturstrom Flex energy tariff, providing dynamic pricing based on market fluctuations, allowing users to save up to 40% on home charging.
In July 2023, the Volkswagen Group and Elli became the first German automotive company to begin trading on Europe’s largest power exchange, EPEX Spot, allowing for market-based electricity tariffs that replace fixed-price options.
By expanding renewable energy and encouraging the use of green power for charging, Volkswagen is making significant strides toward its sustainability goals, supporting the shift to a cleaner, more sustainable future for mobility.
1) ID.4 Pro with 210 kW: Combined power consumption 15.8 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions 0 g/km; CO2 class: A. Where ranges are stated, the values for consumption, CO2 emissions and CO2 classes depend on the selected vehicle equipment
2) Volkswagen AG commissioned TÜV NORD CERT Prüf- und Umweltgutachtergesellschaft mbH as an independent external body to carry out a critical review of its LCA study in accordance with the applicable standards DIN EN ISO 14040 and DIN EN ISO 14044. In accordance with the standard, the manufacturing phase from raw material extraction, the use phase comprising passenger transportation over 200,000 km in the WLTP driving cycle and dismantling for recycling (without battery system) were used as a framework. The environmental impacts were assessed via a special software including a database with average upstream chain values. With regard to the state of the art of LCAs, it should be noted that the calculation methods for LCAs in the automotive industry are subject to constant further development. Amongst other changes, generic data and assumptions are increasingly being replaced by vehicle- and company-specific data; future calculations may thus lead to significant deviations from previous LCA values. Therefore LCAs are to be understood as a status at the time of execution (snapshot of the respective assumptions), do not represent a guaranteed product property in a legal sense and are not suitable for comparisons with LCAs from other car manufacturers. Respective harmonizing EU standards are expected to be published in 2025. For selected parts like the battery cells, separate analyses are carried out by Volkswagen. For further details of this LCA study, see the Green Finance Report 2024 at https://www.volkswagengroup.com/de/publikationen/weitere/green-finance-report-2024-englisch-2722
3) According to a 2023 study of the Fraunhofer Institute, renewable electricity already accounts for 61 per cent of the power used for charging all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, with power from non-renewable sources providing the remaining 39 per cent.