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Volkswagen ID Electric Car to be CO2 Neutral During Its Life Cycle

For about a decade now, there are voices claiming electric cars are likely to be just as bad - if not worse – as internal combustion ones when it comes to the impact on the environment. There are also voices claiming the contrary, and they got a major help on Friday from Volkswagen.
VW's green plan for building the ID 5 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
VW's green plan for building the IDVW's green plan for building the IDVW's green plan for building the IDVW's green plan for building the ID
Ever since it became clear electric vehicles are here to stay, all sorts of reports started popping up claiming  that keeping EVs rolling will require the world to burn even more fossil fuels for the needed electricity.

Add to that all the harmful emissions coming from the manufacturing processes, and the outlook is even grimmer than before these cars showed up.

It’s likely the debate on this subject will rage on for years to come, until the world has enough data to look back at and say who was right. But judging solely by the numbers made public by Volkswagen, those advocating for the full-scale adoption of EVs seem to be winning.

Provided, of course, some other things in the production chain change as well.

The German car group said on Friday that it has pretty much solved the manufacturing part of the equation, as it has implemented enough green power sources to make the production of the first ID cars CO2 neutral.

In fact, Volkswagen says, 1 million tons of CO2 per year will no longer rise above the Zwickau facility, the equivalent of “a coal-fired power plant that supplies 300,000 households with electricity.”

As for charging, the deployment of stations that get their power from clean sources is likely to fix that issue. VW already announced the creation of a company specialized in generating green electricity, Elli, at the beginning of the year.

Elli will be partnering with renewable energy provider Naturstrom to get the energy needed for charging stations.

“As the world’s largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen is assuming responsibility: The new ID. will be the Group’s first climate-neutrally produced electric car,” said in a statement Thomas Ulbrich, VW’s head of e-mobility.

“To ensure that it remains emission free during its life cycle, we are working on many different ways to use green power. Truly sustainable mobility is feasible if we all want it and we all work on it.”

Volkswagen did not say whether the same green production processes will be used for the assembly of the rest of its coming EV fleet. For the record, the Germans do admit some emissions are unavoidable, but they will be "offset by investments in certified climate projects."
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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