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Renewables as the backbone of electrification

Switching to electrification even makes sense without the switch to renewables but the energy transition can leverage the change
Clean energy icon Challenge 1: Clean energy

The first challenge is a very fundamental one: We need to make sure the switch to electric engines goes hand in hand with the switch to renewable energy around the globe.

The sky’s the limit: solar and wind potential exceed total energy demand Illustration that renewables exceed energy demand

As shown above, one of the strengths of electrification is its high degree of efficiency compared to other technologies, especially engines burning fossil fuels.

Today petrol and diesel cars emit almost 3 times more CO2 than the average EU electric car

A life-cycle analysis of cars with different powertrains, conducted by NGO Transport & Environment, has shown that even in the worst case scenarios, electric cars already offer clear advantages when it comes to CO2 emissions.

They found that:

“in the worst case scenario, an electric car with a battery produced in China and driven in Poland still emits 22% less CO2 than diesel and 28% less than petrol. And in the best case scenario, an electric car with a battery produced in Sweden and driven in Sweden can emit 80% less CO2 than diesel and 81% less than petrol.”

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This video highlights why expanding renewables generation is key for the energy transition in urban mobility.

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Electrification of Urban Mobility: How to Get it Right

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