Mercedes-Benz has entered into a green power supply contract with energy supplier Enovos and the Norwegian energy producer Statkraft. This means that from 2022 onwards, the company will purchase electricity in Germany which comes exclusively from renewable sources. A green power supply contract ensures the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources at all times.
The CO2-free electricity from solar, wind and hydro sources is generated in various power plants, most of which are located in Germany. These include a part of a solar park with the size of 60 football pitches near Ingolstadt and 24 wind farms with a total of more than 200 wind turbines. The electricity generated from this is roughly equivalent to the amount consumed by 65,000 households annually. The intelligent mix is supplemented by electricity from flexible hydropower plants.
Generation of green electricity is synchronized to follow patterns of consumption so that a supply from the grid with green electricity can be guaranteed on a quarter hourly basis. In many previous green power contracts, feed-in to the grid takes place purely on an annual balance basis. In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the first major industrial customer in Germany to secure the long-term continued operation of six wind farms in northern Germany after the end of the EEG subsidy through a similar concept. The first Mercedes-Benz locations are already being supplied with this CO2-free electricity.
In Germany, green electricity procurement is ensured not only for the passenger car production plants but for all Daimler locations. This also includes the German van, truck and bus plants as well as the central and administrative units – more than 100 locations in total. The company is thus making a significant contribution to the expansion of renewable energy in Germany and to the energy transition.
With Ambition 2039, Mercedes-Benz is pursuing the goal of a fully connected and CO2 neutral vehicle fleet in 2039 – eleven years earlier than required by EU legislation. The company envisages that more than 50 percent of its passenger car unit sales will be accounted for by plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles by 2030.