ŠKODA ENYAQ iV: a car with carbon neutral balance

It emits no local emissions. The ŠKODA ENYAQ iV reaches customers with a carbon neutral balance.

3. 8. 2021 eMobility

All ŠKODA plants in the Czech Republic are due to be CO₂ neutral by the end of this decade. Thanks to the switch to clean heating fuels and electricity from renewable sources, vehicle production is leaving a smaller and smaller carbon footprint. The Czech carmaker’s Vrchlabí plant has already been carbon neutral since the end of 2020.

Hand in hand with these actions is the clean-up of the production of the cars themselves. And where else to start but with the environmentally friendly ŠKODA ENYAQ iV electric car? “We are working to have carbon-free production through a series of measures such as the introduction of an energy management system, optimising ventilation, closing heating circuits that are no longer in use, replacing and regulating lighting or installing smart HVAC controls and, temporarily, buying emission offsets. VW Group decided last year that all electric cars on the MEB platform will be CO₂ neutral when they are handed over to the customer, which we guarantee with certification from TÜV NORD CERT,” says Peter Juhasz, Project Manager for Product Sustainability.

Manufacturing electric cars is a very demanding process that naturally involves unwanted emissions. That’s why the decision was made: let’s strive to make electric cars carbon neutral throughout their entire life cycle.

Examples of sustainability measures at ŠKODA:

• At the company’s headquarters in Mladá Boleslav, ŠKODA completed the installation of a new photovoltaic system at its service centre in Kosmonosy in November 2020. Covering more than 2,200 square metres, the panels supply more than 450 MWh of sustainably produced energy per year.

• The largest rooftop photovoltaic system in the Czech Republic with almost 6,000 solar modules is also being built on the roofs of the ŠKODA Parts Center and the logistics building. The nominal output of the plant is 2,300 kW and annual electricity production exceeds 2,200 MWh.

• At the Indian manufacturing plant in Pune, one of the largest rooftop solar systems in India is helping to significantly reduce the environmental footprint: 25,770 photovoltaic modules cover approximately 15 per cent of the plant’s annual electricity requirements, and this measure reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 9,000 tons per year.

• The OPTIKON app, developed by the Czech car manufacturer, shows in detail how smart ideas can reduce emissions. Using artificial intelligence, the app ensures the best possible use of space in shipping containers. In the first half of 2020 alone, 151 container transports were saved and 80 tonnes of CO₂ emissions were saved as a result.

In addition to all the measures in the production plants themselves, other steps are needed to achieve this. Emission offsets in production plants have already been mentioned – and it is practically the same for offsets in a vehicle’s production phase. “This is about emissions that are released into the air before the car gets to the showroom and is charged for the first time – in other words, components manufactured by suppliers and then transported to the factory; assembly at our factory; and delivering the finished cars by rail or road to dealers. We offset all of this for the customer by purchasing CO₂ credits (certificates), which guarantees that our electric cars actually have a carbon neutral footprint in the showroom,” explains Juhasz.

ŠKODA is thus also looking to reduce CO₂ emissions proportionately in the supply chain and in the entire production process and logistics, including by using electricity from renewables or avoiding emissions generation altogether. For example, the supplier LG already guarantees the use of renewable electricity in the production of the ENYAQ iV battery. ŠKODA ENYAQ iV drivers can thus stay 100% green if they charge the SUV exclusively with green electricity produced from renewable sources.

The Czech carmaker has calculated exactly how much CO₂ is generated by the entire cycle from the start of production to transport to the showroom – it can therefore buy the appropriate quantity of offsets. “We know exactly how much CO₂ we need to offset for all ENYAQ iV cars in a given year and how many CO₂ certificates we therefore need. The CO₂ certificates we buy relate to wind power projects in India. The park in Tamil Nadu in the south of the country will comprise 100 wind turbines. With a total capacity of 200 MW, it will supply clean energy to 600,000 households.

The second life of batteries

The issue of recycling is also part of the product life cycle assessment. When ENYAQ iV batteries reach the end of their service life, they will first be given a “second life” in the ŠKODA iV smart energy storage system. This measure extends the batteries’ life and thus improves their environmental footprint. Subsequently, the batteries are recycled and the used raw materials are sent for further use. The CO₂ emissions resulting from recycling the car are already taken into account: emissions are reduced by a combination of the high degree of recycling and the extensive use of already reused or recyclable materials.

A clever energy storage system powered by used batteries from ŠKODA iV models stores sustainably generated electricity. This allows ŠKODA dealerships to charge electric vehicles quickly and flexibly and to power the lighting and air-conditioning in showrooms and workshops.