Drivers choose 'green' power for their EVs

The willingness to buy an e-car increases with income: At 74%, participants with a monthly net household income of €4,000 and above show the greatest willingness to buy an e-car.

The participants of the study want in particular 'green' electricity for e-mobility. Nearly 60% of those surveyed consider this important (27%) or very important (30%). It is striking that here, too, the assessment is strongly dependent on age. The younger the respondents, the greater is the value placed on renewable energy sources as an electricity supplier for emission-free driving.

"Already today, all passenger transport could be powered exclusively by renewable energies," said Peter Wawer, Division President Industrial Power Control at Infineon.

In 2017, 547 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity were generated in Germany, of which 143TWh were generated by solar and wind power. This would be enough for around 47.7 million vehicles, with 46.5 million cars currently registered in Germany.

"The biggest challenge in switching from combustion engines to electric motors is to set up a charging infrastructure, and to upgrade existing power grids. In Germany, these are not yet sufficient for the higher performance required by e-mobility. Especially if the grid is also to tolerate a higher proportion of renewable energies."

Germans would be willing to pay extra for this 'clean' e-mobility. Assuming electricity costs of €4 per 100km, 62% would be prepared to pay more for renewable electricity. Fifteen percent would dig deeper into their pockets, and spend more than €6 on a 100km charge - if they could be sure that the electricity was not produced by nuclear or coal power plants.

'Not in my backyard'
The majority of participants believe that electricity from renewable energy sources should be generated where conditions are particularly good. This applies, for example, to offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

However, only 21% accept large power lines if they run less than five kilometers from their place of residence. Germans find renewable energy generation least disturbing in the environment: solar parks enjoy the highest level of acceptance, followed by wind parks, hydropower plants and biomass plants.

The high level of approval for solar parks is even higher among the survey participants for whom an e-car is an option. Seventy four percent would accept a solar park within a radius of five kilometers of their home (67% in total).

Conversely, 18% of respondents who are unwilling to use an e-car reject all forms of energy generation in their own vicinity. In comparison, only seven percent of the participants in the study, for whom an e-car is an option, reject it. Nuclear power plants and open-cast coalmines clearly lag behind in terms of acceptance, with rates of seven and five percent, respectively.

Charging: preferably at home, and under 30 minutes on the road
There is a clear preference when it comes to charging e-cars: the interviewees prefer to 'refuel' at home. Significantly fewer people prefer charging at work, which is almost on par with charging at shopping centres, gas stations and public parking garages. An obvious barrier for charging on the road is a 30-minute time limit: 70% of respondents are not willing to accept longer charging times.

This is another reason why different providers are setting up an infrastructure for fast charging both in cities and along the motorway. New materials for semiconductors such as silicon carbide are making this possible. With the appropriate battery, electric vehicles can be charged within minutes at a charging power of 350kW.

Apparently, charging at home is so popular because the car can be charged 'in passing' even with longer charging times - overnight, for example. However, most people do not know what other activities they can engage in while their batteries are being recharged. Less than half know where the nearest charging station is.