Kia has unveiled plans to use 100% renewable energy to charge their Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) using the Kia Charge network.
The greener charging system will help put more renewable energy back into the charging network by calculating how many Megawatt-hours (MWh) are being used by Kia owners and then purchasing that amount of green energy from Direct Charging Solutions (DCS).
DCS provides customers (including manufacturers) access to Europe’s largest charging network, with access to over 245,000 chargers within their network.
Alongside trying to pump more renewable energy into the electricity grid, Kia Charge aims to make the charging process more convenient for owners.
Owners signing up to the scheme will be given one card enabling access across 23 different charging networks.
Tom Richards, spokesperson for Kia, said: “If 20 customers charge 50 Kilo-watt hours each [equating to 1 MWh], Kia will then purchase a guarantee of origin certificate and this energy will then go back into the system.
“Through the use of either the free or low monthly cost plan, it allows Kia customers to have access to 69% of the UK charging network.
“With Kia Charge it can act as a piece of mind which contributes to more customers considering electric vehicles.”
Kia have partnered with DCS to deliver the clean energy into the national charging grid.
Energy purchased from DCS will be given a guarantee of origin certificate to ensure sustainability.
DCS said: “Due to the mix of green power with grey power [power made from fossil fuels] in the public power grid, we cannot guarantee that EVs are charged with 100% green energy but we can compensate.”
Jason Jeong, president of Kia Europe said: “By pushing more green energy into the grid, we can increase the energy mix in favour of more sustainable sources.
“However, until there is absolutely no grey energy on the grid, this latest action is a firm step in the right direction.”
This is one of the steps Kia is taking to achieve their target of becoming carbon neutral by 2045.
Under current government regulations there are no stipulations that electricity being used to charge EVs must be fully renewable.
The Kia EV6. Photo Credit: Hyundai Motor Group/Unsplash
Kia Charge is currently available across Europe with 20,500 charge points in England accessible through ‘Kia Charge’.
Comments