Professor drives 4,000 kilometers with an electric car: costs compared to the combustion engine
The well-known Professor Volker Quaschning from HTW Berlin drove 4,000 kilometres in an electric car during his holiday in Norway. In the end, he draws a clear balance.
Volker Quaschning recently carried out a range experiment: The professor of renewable energies has been teaching and researching at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Berlin since 2004. His passion lies in finding solutions to the energy crisis with the help of renewable energies. In his latest attempt, he traveled a total of 4,000 kilometers from Berlin to Norway and back in a Tesla Model 3, covering 100 kilometers on ferries. He examined the charging infrastructure on the way, the efficiency of the electric car and the climate and price balance compared to combustion engines. On his YouTube account "Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning" he shares the results in a video. The low charging costs incurred on the route are particularly surprising.
Well-developed charging infrastructure in the north
At the beginning of the trip, Volker Quaschning is faced with the question of whether there will be enough charging stations in the north. However, his drive through Denmark, Sweden and Norway shows that the charging infrastructure is excellently developed. He positively emphasizes that there were no major difficulties in charging the vehicle. Especially in Norway, a pioneer in electromobility, a lot of electricity is generated from renewable energies. This, in turn, also improves the climate balance. There were also no problems with the use of ferries. The professor had previously had doubts about this due to the possible increased risk of fire.
The electricity balance: the equivalent of 2.4 liters per 100 kilometers
The professor's Tesla consumed 22.4 kWh per 100 kilometers on the route, which is not necessarily a small amount for an electric car. The reason: The roof box is likely to have driven up electricity consumption by 10 to 20 percent. If you convert the electricity consumption over the distance with the calorific value of gasoline and diesel, you get an equivalent fuel consumption of less than 2.4 liters per 100 km. "This shows how efficient electric cars are," Quaschning enthuses.
And so, unsurprisingly, energy expenditure is low in the end: The charging costs for the entire route of 3,900 kilometres amounted to 280 euros, an average of 32 cents per kilowatt hour. This is about 200 euros less than a comparable combustion engine with a fuel price of 1.75 euros per liter and a fuel consumption of 7 liters, which is already sporty with a roof box.
It is important to know that electricity costs in Norway are particularly high. If the professor had driven the same route in another region, the savings would probably have been even greater.
The climate balance is clear: over 600 kilograms more CO₂ emissions with combustion engines
In addition, the engineering scientist compared the carbon footprint between electric cars and conventional combustion engines. Although the production of the battery of an electric car causes higher CO₂ emissions, in the long term it has been shown that electric cars are much more environmentally friendly.
In Norway, electricity is generated almost exclusively from renewable energies, so charging his Tesla there generated 0 grams of CO₂ - the same in Sweden. In Denmark and Germany, there was then some fossil electricity, as it was quite windless. Volker Quaschning states that about 20 kilograms of CO₂ were produced during the entire journey through the store. In addition, there were about 75 kilograms of CO₂ from the three ferry trips with fossil fuel - which would also have been produced by a combustion car. However, in the case of a combustion engine, the emissions from burning the fuel would also be added. At 7 liters per 100 kilometers, that would be another 630 kilograms of CO₂ calculated over the entire trip.
With regard to alternatives, such as air travel or cruises, driving an electric car also turns out to be the most climate-friendly option. Air or ship travel has significantly higher CO₂ emissions and is therefore more harmful to the environment.
In summary, the video shows that electric cars like the Tesla Model 3 can be a sensible and environmentally friendly alternative for long-distance travel. It is easily possible to cover long distances with an electric car. At the same time, drivers save costs and emissions. The electrical engineering graduate is convinced that in the fight against global warming, energy sources should be completely replaced by renewables. If you want to hear more from the professor, you can listen to his podcast "That's a good question".