Paolo Perani is an electrical engineer. He holds the role of Sustainability Manager ELDS Division at ABB based in Bergamo. He posted on his Likedin profile the energy balance of a trip by electric car from Bergamo to Paris, completed with CO2 emissions of just 11 kg. Here is his account.
by Paolo Perani
Last month I was invited by a major French company to discuss their sustainability strategies and identify areas for cooperation. I was excited about the opportunity, but I realized that traveling from Bergamo to Paris would have implications in terms of CO2 emissions. So, I decided to travel 970 km with an electric car Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor.
I recorded all the details to see if electric cars could really be the solution for salespeople who visit customers often.
It rained the whole trip and I driven at 110 km/h with an energy consumption of 16.6 kWh/100 kmwith a result of 161 kWh from Bergamo to Paris. Before leaving, I recharged the car with green electricity at the ABB factory of Dalmine, one of the “ABB Mission to Zero” sites equipped with 4,000 m2 of solar panels on the roof.
CO2 emissions per 11 kg over 970 km. Twelve times less than a diesel
During the trip, I used 3 different fast chargers on French motorways, and one was an ABB rapid charger capable of charging the car at an impressive rate power of 205 kW!
Considering that I have recharged in different locations and from different operators, I can only take the average emission factor of the France, equal to 68 gCO2/kWh.
Aia both on the way out and on the way back, I caused only 11 kg of emissions of CO2 for 970 km (161 kWh x 68 g CO2/kWh = 10,948 g)!
How does this compare if I had taken another mode of transportation?
-With a French intercity trainthe emissions would have been 11.4kg of CO2.
-On a flight from Milan to Paris, CO2 emissions would have been 181kg.
-With a car high efficiency dieselCO2 emissions would have reached 133 KG, 12 times more!
Energy mixes compared: in Sweden I would have emitted only 1 kg of CO2
It is true that the emissions factor in France is one of the lowest in the world, producing 66% of its electricity from nuclear sources and 27% from renewable sources. (1) What if the trip was done with an electric car, at the same speed but in a different countrywithout the production of electricity with nuclear energy?
Some examples.
-Germany – 59 kg di CO2 emissions (national emission factor of 366 g CO2/kWh).
-Netherlands – 51kg of CO2 emissions (country emission factor equal to 321).
-Italy – 40kg of CO2 emissions (country emission factor of 252).
-Spain – 33kg of CO2 emissions (country emission factor equal to 205)
The emissions of aelectric cars are always inferior to those of a internal combustion engine, and will decrease further with the decarbonisation of the electricity system. If we take theexample of Swedenwith an emission factor of 7 g C02/kWhthe CO2 emission of my 970 km journey would have just 1 kg of CO2!
By the way, if you’re wondering how my meeting went, I can share that we spent the first 20 minutes doing all these calculations and comparisons!
