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E-car drivers have had to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets at the charging stations in recent months due to the high price of electricity.
A study shows how costs can fall again
The phasing out of nuclear energy as well as lignite and hard coal has its price - customers have noticed this in their own wallets for months.
For many, the phase-out of lignite and hard coal is certain, while the phase-out of nuclear energy and gas supplies from abroad is more controversial than ever.
However, according to a study, gas and nuclear power are essential to significantly reducing costs by 2025.
The transition to electromobility is in full swing.
More and more combustion models are disappearing from the model portfolios of the various manufacturers and the electric versions are slowly gaining the upper hand.
But that raises the question of where the electricity for all the electric vehicles should come from.
And in addition to the amount of electricity itself, it is not least a matter of costs, because anyone who charges their own electric car with a Hypercharger sometimes pays more than 0.80 euros for one kilowatt hour of electricity, which means that economical combustion engines and electric engines are on par.
EnBW, one of the largest German electricity suppliers and operator of numerous charging stations, will noticeably increase its electricity prices from January 17th.
The charging prices of competitors such as Allego or Ionity have also risen significantly.
Charging electric cars: According to the study, lower electricity prices are feasible – using gas and nuclear power
And not only the charging prices are likely to continue to rise in the medium term - the high energy prices are also having an impact on the purchase price of vehicles.
In the coming years, Germany will hardly be able to get by with only renewable energies.
Among other things, there is a lack of constant wind and water power as well as solar energy.
If complete self-sufficiency is not feasible, one should use regenerative energy sources as best as possible.
Germany is obviously on the right track.
According to studies by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), the areas of wind and photovoltaics have increased significantly in German net electricity generation in 2022.
According to the ISE, German photovoltaic systems generated around 58 terawatt hours of electricity in 2022, of which around 53 TWh were fed into the public grid.
The Renewable Energy Sources Act is having an effect and is making its contribution, as the addition of 6.1 gigawatts to the EEG plants increases the nominal capacity of these plants for electricity generation (installed capacity) to around 66 gigawatts (as of November).
This corresponds to the highest photovoltaic expansion since 2013. In combination with the sunny weather of the past year, solar power generation has increased by 19 percent compared to 2021.
Remarkable: From April to August and in October, the monthly power generation of the photovoltaic systems was higher than that of coal-fired power plants and from March to September the power of the sun even exceeded the output of gas-fired power plants.
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It became significantly more expensive for drivers of electric cars at the charging station in 2022.
(icon picture)
© MiS/Imago
Charging electric cars: Demand for a massively accelerated expansion of renewable energies
2022 was an average year for the wind farms: In total, the wind turbines on the coast and inland produced around 123 TWh, nine TWh more than in the previous year.
This puts wind power at the top of German electricity producers, followed by lignite, solar, hard coal, natural gas, biomass, nuclear power and hydropower.
Electricity production from hydropower fell by three TWh compared to 2021 to just 16 TWh due to the hot summer.
All in all, renewable energy sources generated around 244 TWh of electricity in 2022, which is around 7.4 percent more than in the previous year (227 TWh).
This also has an effect on the share of regenerative energies in public net electricity generation: it rose by four percent to 49.6 percent (share of the load 50.3 percent).
Despite all the progress, these power generators are still a long way from being self-sufficient.
As the number of electric cars increases, the price structure at the German charging stations will remain dynamic.
Especially since the battle for electricity will become even tougher.
The analysts at the management consultancy McKinsey, who came to the conclusion in their study "Future path power supply" that electricity prices can be reduced to a competitive level by 2025, raise hope.
A central requirement to achieve this goal is a massively accelerated expansion of renewable energies.
Charging an electric car: Electricity price reductions through regenerative energies are not to be expected in the near future
The accompanying circumstances show that it will not be that easy.
Currently, 95 percent of the photovoltaic modules come from China.
In view of the increasingly complicated geopolitical situation, it is therefore important to locate the largest possible production capacities in order to ensure a supply of these power sources.
This dilemma is all the more remarkable as Germany was a leader in the production of photovoltaic cells a good ten years ago.
But the staying power was lacking, China seized the opportunity and jumped into the breach.
Now you have to make up for a carelessly given up advantage with a large and costly effort.
The positive thing is that, according to the McKinsey consultants, 180,000 additional workers are needed to implement the expansion of renewable energies.
Nevertheless, it is not to be expected that regenerative energies will be able to shoulder the burden of supply to such an extent that they will depress electricity prices by the middle of the decade.
According to the McKinsey experts, the consequence is obvious and is likely to cause some disillusionment: “Gas, as a stable and comparatively low-emission supplement, will continue to be an essential part of the German energy system for more than ten years, because energy demand is increasing and expansion of renewable and conventional generation capacities and grids is not running fast enough," says the study.
Extreme concept cars: ten spectacular studies that never went into series production
10th place - Renault Trezor Concept (2016): At the Paris Motor Show in 2016, Renault presented a real eye-catcher: the futuristic flounder Trezor Concept gave a glimpse of what a purely electric Gran Turismo from the French could look like.
The highlight of the concept vehicle were the missing doors - instead, the roof and bonnet opened to get in.
However, it was already clear when it was presented: This vehicle is simply too extraordinary to ever go into series production.
It's nice to look at nonetheless.
© CTK Photo/Imago
9th place - Peugeot e-Legend (2018): Not everything has to be new: At the Paris Motor Show 2018, Peugeot showed the retro study e-Legend.
When it came to design, the French were inspired by the 504 – a model that premiered in the late 1960s.
While the design looked to the past, a technical look was taken at the future: The vehicle was equipped with a purely electric drive and was intended to show how autonomous driving modes are imagined.
For example, the steering wheel could be lowered under the soundbar.
Nevertheless: The e-Legend did not go into series production.
© Xinhua/Imago
8th place - VW Futura (1989): When it comes to a trade fair show car, car designers like to use gullwing doors - so even a relatively unspectacular vehicle looks at least somewhat exciting.
The VW Futura was also equipped with it in 1989 for its appearance at the IAA in Frankfurt - knowing full well that this complex technology will most likely not make it into a production model.
Both the wing doors and the glass tailgate could also be removed, making the Wolfsburg a kind of T-top convertible.
The Futura remained a one-off, but it did give a small preview of the design of the later VW Sharan.
© Volkswagen
7th place - Audi Urban Concept (2011): When it comes to show cars, each manufacturer has its own philosophy - in the case of Audi, the vehicles are usually a relatively concrete preview of a production car.
Not so with the Audi Urban Concept: At the IAA 2011 in Frankfurt, the Ingolstadt-based company showed the narrow-gauge vehicle in which two people can sit one behind the other.
The dynamic racing car look belied the modest engine: two electric motors were supposed to deliver 20 hp.
The vehicle weighed only 480 kilograms – the top speed was 100 km/h, and Audi stated the range to be around 60 kilometers.
The study, which was designed purely as a city vehicle, was later also shown as a Spyder version – neither of which went into series production.
© Audi
The BMW M1 HommagePlatz 6 – BMW M1 Hommage (2008): In autumn 1978, BMW began production of the legendary M1 super sports car – by the end of 1981 460 examples had been built.
However, the 277 hp from an in-line six-cylinder no longer sound really powerful.
All the more you remember the wedge-shaped design of the mid-engine athlete.
BMW revived the legend in 2008: at the Concorso d'Eleganza on Lake Como, the Munich company showed the BMW M1 Hommage.
The extremely designed study in orange metallic paint is a real eye-catcher.
The retro flounder did not go into series production - however, the design took something ahead of another vehicle: the BMW i8, which was built from 2013.
©BMW
The Opel Monza ConceptPlace 5 - Opel Monza Concept (2013): Gullwing doors are a real rarity in production vehicles - they are usually only seen in super sports cars, because the technology is complex and vulnerable.
But they are always an eye-catcher, which is why they are perfect for trade fair studies.
Opel also opted for this with the Monza Concept at the IAA in Frankfurt in 2013.
The series chances for a chic luxury coupé of this type from Opel were slim from the start.
It stayed with the one show car.
If you want to drive a Monza today, you have to look for an original that was built from the end of the 1970s.
© YAY Images/Imago
The Bugatti 16C Galibier ConceptPlace 4 – Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept (2009): Nowadays, the Bugatti brand is best known for two models: the Veyron and Chiron super sports cars – both equipped with a 16-cylinder engine and an output of well over 1,000 hp.
In 2009, however, with the Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept, the brand showed selected guests how one could imagine a French luxury sedan.
The public then got to see the show car at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.
As the suffix "16C" reveals, the sporty sedan would also have been equipped with a powerful 16-cylinder engine.
The Galibier did not find his way into series production - if one can speak of it at all given the small quantities of the brand.
The special feature of the concept car remains all the more exclusive:
A Parmigiani Fleurier tourbillon watch is installed on the car's dashboard - this can be removed from the holder and worn as a wristwatch.
© Uli Deck/dpa
The Citroën TubikPlatz 3 – Citroën Tubik (2011): Vans are visually rather unexciting vehicles, which has to do with their naturally mostly box-like shape.
At the IAA in Frankfurt in 2011, Citroën showed that such a vehicle can also be designed in an unusual way with the Tubik.
Whether you like the design - especially the front - is of course a completely different matter.
A huge double door gives access to the lounge-like interior of the Turik.
The seating offers maximum variability - and can also be converted into a bed, for example.
A vehicle of extremes that also remained a one-off.
© Sebastian Geisler/Imago
A BMW E1 Place 2 – BMW E1 (1991): There are always concept vehicles that are simply too far ahead of their time.
One of these is probably the BMW E1, which the Munich company presented in 1991 at the IAA in Frankfurt.
A compact electric vehicle with a length of almost 3.50 meters, in which four people can find space.
The sodium-sulphur battery had a capacity of 20 kW and should have been sufficient for a range of around 200 kilometers under favorable circumstances.
As is typical for BMW, the 32 kW electric motor only drove the rear wheels, and the top speed was 120 km/h.
In 1993, BMW introduced a second version of the E1 - this time with an internal combustion engine.
But neither one nor the other variant made it into series production - nevertheless, the E1 is considered by some to be the early forerunner of the i3, which was produced from 2013.
Mercedes NAFA place 1 - Mercedes Nafa (1982): When you look at this vehicle, you might think of many manufacturers - but certainly not of Mercedes.
However, in 1982 the Swabians actually presented the Nafa study – an abbreviation for “local traffic vehicle”.
The angular box was just 2.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and high.
It offered space for two people and was designed as a minimalist city mobile.
The curious vehicle remained a one-off - and is still considered the forefather of later city speedsters such as the Smart or the A-Class.
© Mercedes Benz
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Charging electric cars: According to the study, gas plays a crucial role in lowering electricity prices
Gas plays a crucial role in reducing the price of electricity.
“Declining natural gas costs are the key to reducing CO2 emissions from power generation as well.
If natural gas costs remain high, too much coal could be used,” explains Alexander Weiss, director of global energy consulting at McKinsey.
According to the authors of the study, a reduction in the price of gas is only possible through long-term contracts with gas producers.
A bitter pill for everyone who longs for the end of fossil fuels.
The implications are clear.
"If the gas price drops significantly to the forecast LNG price of 28 euros/MWh in 2025, the electricity price could fall to as much as 75 euros/MWh," the McKinsey analysts note.
If the federal government decides to extend the operating times of the nuclear power plants beyond April 2023, the wholesale electricity price could be reduced by an additional five to 15 euros/MWh in 2025.
"Individual measures will probably not be enough to reconcile profitability, sustainability and security of supply - an overall package and concerted action by all stakeholders is necessary," says Alexander Weiss, obliging those responsible to do so.
(Wolfgang Gomoll/press inform)
List of rubrics: © MiS/Imago
