Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen brand Board Member responsible for E-Mobility, says: “As one of the world’s largest automakers, Volkswagen is going to force the pace of the urgently needed transport and energy transition to emission-neutral e-mobility. The new company will play its part with energy offerings from renewable sources and smart charging solutions. This way, we are entering a strategically relevant, extremely exciting business area that offers considerable opportunities for strengthening ties with existing customers as well as accessing entirely new customer groups.”
Thorsten Nicklass, the CEO of Elli, is the executive who is responsible for all services related to green power and smart charging. “Our goal is to enable our customers to charge their electric cars in the same easy way that they charge their smartphones,” Nicklass says. Surveys have found that many drivers shy away from the idea of switching to an electric vehicle because of worries about finding charging stations, he notes. “We intend to ease these fears,” Nicklass says. The new offer will initially focus on Europe.
“Climate protection is our motivation”
The first product being offered by Elli is CO2-neutral green power from Volkswagen. The electricity is generated by hydro-electric plants in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. It can be ordered on the website www.elli.eco. “Climate protection is one of our chief motivations,” Nicklass says. “When we think of future generations, we realize that we have to act now.” For this reason, all Elli employees will use electric cars to meet their transportation needs. “E-cars are a must for us,” the CEO says. Whenever possible, employees will use trains to make business trips and avoid planes.
With the first service offered by Elli, Volkswagen is giving its customers an opportunity to significantly improve the carbon footprint of their electric cars. Buyers of the compact Volkswagen ID.* will be able to travel in a completely environmentally conscious manner. There is a good reason for this as well: The entire production process at the plant in Zwickau, Germany, including the supply chain, will be CO2 neutral. High energy efficiency and the use of green power will make it all possible. Unavoidable emissions will be offset by investments in forest protection or afforestation.
Electric charging stations at home
Elli plans to quickly offer other services after Volkswagen’s green power makes its debut, Nicklass says. Right in time for the launch of the ID. family, Volkswagen will work with Elli to offer “Volks-wallboxes” that can be used to charge cars at home. While the car can be charged on the normal 230 V grid with 3.7 kilowatts (kW), the wallbox for the ID. and other electric cars will work with charging power of up to 11 kW. If the power socket at home is designed for such power input, then the battery can be completely charged over night.