Customer preference in favour of charging electric vehicles with renewables
In Europe, transport emissions account for one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions – and 78% of them come from road transport. A customer survey conducted by EV charging network operator Virta in December 2021 showed that almost 80% of the respondents would prefer to charge exclusively with renewable electricity or would prefer renewable electricity if it were available regardless of time, place or price. With its decision to switch to EKOenergy, Virta has responded to this wish.
About 6,000 charging points of Virta’s charging network in Finland are now powered with EKOenergy-labelled Finnish wind power. This means that Virta’s consumers in Finland are charging their electric car batteries with sustainable renewable energy that carries our ecolabel.
Virta aims to enable the use of ecolabelled wind energy through its charging points outside Finland too. Via their Virta Origin service, they are also making it easy for their partner companies to switch to EKOenergy-labelled energy.
Virta going the extra mile with EKOenergy to amplify the positive impact of renewable electricity
A recent report by the International Council on Clean Transportation points out that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by electric vehicles charged with 100% renewable energy are only about 19% of the emissions produced by internal combustion engine cars – and this includes the lifecycle emissions of battery manufacturing as well.
Charging vehicles with EKOenergy-labelled renewable energy further amplifies the positive impact. EKOenergy is not only 100% renewable, but also comes from installations that fulfil extra sustainability criteria. Using EKOenergy-labelled, sustainable renewable energy raises funds to finance new renewable energy projects that address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in parts of the world where people need it the most.
“The transition to renewable electricity is extremely important for the climate. It is technically possible and economically viable. By choosing renewable EKOenergy, we are making an environmentally friendly choice for our customers and accelerating the ongoing energy transition.”
Elias Pöyry, Deputy CEO of Virta
We thank Virta for choosing EKOenergy and enabling the users of Virta’s services to make an additional positive impact.
Virta was founded in Helsinki in 2013. For the third consecutive year, it’s one of the fastest-growing companies in the Financial Times 1000 – Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies list. Virta develops and maintains an intelligent digital platform for the charging business that enables all key operations and processes related to charging – from user authentication, charging event management and billing to flexible regulation of charging capacity and grid usage. Virta’s own charging network combined with that of its partners and users of its platform covers more than 50 countries and includes already more than 500 000 charging points.
Published on 23 February 2022 – Photo: Ville Vappula / Virta
