Lampo proposes to produce energy to offset its EV carbon footsteps.
- The paradigm shift from traditional gas powered cars to the electric drive is forcing car manufacturers to adapt or be left behind.
The gist is that building an electric vehicle, EV is closer to information technology, IT than traditional internal combustion engine, ICE technology. One startup that has a revolutionary idea, that of creating clean alternative energy pumped into the Swiss grid would offset its EV carbon footstep, is Lampo. Lampo unveiled its Protostar concept back in March and said it would offset its EV consumption and carbon footstep by creating clean, alternative energy and feeding into the grid. VW wants to expand on it, although not in such a clean way.
VW The Energy Company. According to Bill Paul from Energy Tech Stocks at Seeking Alpha, VW has teamed up with German energy supplier Lichtblick on a project to supply combined heat and power, CHP units to 100,000 German homes. The company's “Ecoblue” CHP units will use natural gas-fueled engines from VW. OK, not quite clean, alternative energy but an interesting move from VW that could herald things to come for car makers.
Fast Forward The Future. It makes sense that at some point or another, car manufacturers will not only have to switch to electronic and electricity technology producers but also could get involved in energy production. So what does this mean exactly? For one thing, it would mean fighting a petroleum lobby that is getting stronger in order to stay relevant these days. Auto makers have been the petroleum world's best friend for close to a century and will not be dismissed that easily, especially considering their implication in the political scene these days.
In the future, it would not be too far fetch to see the VW, Fiat, Nissan of this world become electricity producers, hopefully through cleaner, alternative energy than natural gas in order to offset their EV carbon footstep. And yes! EVs have carbon footsteps. After all, they still need to be manufactured.
Comments
Not sure how this relates to ecars? I mean, what doies this do for us.
Hi Jim,
I often hear this and let me explain. We can't just talk about electric cars without taking into consideration the larger picture, i.e. the grid, energy production, infrastructure and charging stations. Of course, this opens up an huge horizon.
For instance, talking about pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids means talking about the grid since they will recharge but also communicate with it, via vehicle-to-grid, V2G. As with the "green" trend these days, alternative energy is a big concern for people and utilities, and car companies are eager to show a greener face then they have in the past.
It wouldn't surprise me to see car makers show themselves as electronics companies very soon and get away from the gas polluter image they have, and why not clean energy producers, as is the case with the Lampo project.
Nick
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