Are you helping to change the way energy is used?

Vattenfall sees important changes coming in energy use. Two of the most important are the growth of electricity in transportation, which we call E-Mobility, and the efforts to make cities more sustainable.

E-Mobility

Electric cars are not a new invention – in fact they existed a century ago. However, earlier attempts to introduce them widely have failed. Today the situation is different, and a large-scale transformation of the transport sector may be imminent.

The biggest driver of this situation is climate change. While the overall emissions associated with vehicle traffic vary with the fuel used to produce electricity, in the EU overall the so-called well-to-wheel emissions of electric cars are about 60 per cent lower than modern petrol cars.

There are many challenges ahead, including technological improvements and cost reductions for batteries, infrastructure changes related to charging, and the growth of public acceptance and market demand. Nonetheless, E-Mobility is an area where electricity can contribute greatly to society’s climate and sustainability objectives. Vattenfall is taking a role in addressing the needs of this new market.

Volvo and Vattenfall making E-Mobility a Reality on the Road

In 2007, Vattenfall and Volvo started a unique cooperation, with the goal of having a plug-in hybrid vehicle on the market by 2012. The car was launched at the Geneva Motor show in March 2011.

The car will be a plug-in hybrid – a car that can run on battery power or a diesel engine -- built into a Volvo V60. It will be mass-produced and will offer an expected consumption of 0.19 l/100 km and CO₂ emissions of 49 g/km. The journey range for the lithium-ion battery is estimated to be 50 km – which will cover the entire daily use for many commuters. The battery can be charged using a standard power socket, at an estimated charging time is four to six hours. While the purchase price is higher, the running costs are expected to be about one-third of those of a diesel V60.

Vattenfall is contributing its experience of the electricity system and Volvo its knowledge of manufacturing cars. The development of the car is being carried out and financed by both companies.

Sustainable Cities

Cities are becoming more and more aware of their impact on the environment and are working hard to minimize it. Much of this impact is related to energy – and Vattenfall can be a partner for cities in their transition to become more sustainable and use energy more efficiently.

Vattenfall looks at the whole society and offers a systematic approach for improving energy sustainability. A city’s energy system is comprised of different kinds of generation, both large and small-scale, as well as a variety of distribution methods and customer segments. Ultimately, however, the best way of achieving sustainability is to reduce the waste of energy, for example by adding additional insulation, making sure new buildings are constructed in an energy-efficient way or simply by visualizing the consumption so that everyone can get an understanding of and direct feedback on their initiatives to reduce energy consumption.

Within the Sustainable Cities R&D programme all this is covered by six different sub-programmes; Metering technologies, Product-related energy services, Distributed generation, District cooling, Solar energy and Geothermal. Currently, Vattenfall is running 26 different long- and short-term projects within these sub-programmes. An example of a long-term project is the evaluation of the potential for geothermal energy in Vattenfall's existing markets and an example of a short-term project is the study of heat pumps and heat storage that is being conducted in Germany.