chargecloud

GHG emission quotas

GHG emission quotas are a tool wielded by governments to combat the release of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. In Germany, regulatory bodies have set strict limits for transport and production companies, ensuring that their yearly CO2 emissions remain within defined bounds. Any surplus emitted comes with a steep fine, which is currently set at 600 euros per excess tonne emitted to promote compliance.

There is however a silver lining for companies facing these fines. They can sidestep the penalties by purchasing GHG quotas, or essentially units of CO2 saved, from third-party sources. Since 2019, the German government considers electricity to be a low-emission fuel source that is rewarded with GHG quotas. As a result, charge point operators can market the CO2 savings facilitated by their charging stations to companies subject to quota requirements.

E-mobility providers can also benefit from GHG quotas. The German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) has attributed set amounts of CO2 savings to electric cars, commercial vehicles, and buses. This enables mobility service providers to calculate CO2 savings of electric fleets, and market these to companies bound by emissions targets on behalf of vehicle owners.

Navigating GHG quota trade

To participate in GHG quota trading, vendors sign agreements with companies exceeding emission targets. The agreements are presented to the main customs office for verification of the traded GHG quota volumes.

While charge point operators could market their CO2 savings directly to quota-bound companies, the procedural complexity and time-intensive nature of this process often deters businesses from engaging in emission trading.

This is where quota trading platforms come in. CPOs and EMPs can outsource the sale of emission savings to dedicated service providers. In doing so, they can benefit from streamlined digital interfaces for uploading vehicle documents, as well as other automations that ease the GHG quota trading process. Quota trading platforms also aggregate CO2 savings from multiple companies to land competitive deals in the wholesale market and pay out a reward premium to customers.

Top up your charging revenue with chargecloud and Elektrovorteil

To support seamless and automatic rewards payments for GHG quota savings, chargecloud has partnered with Elektrovorteil.

Customers wishing to benefit from this partnership can request access to Elektrovorteil’s quota trading platform via charge.marketplace. After signing a service provision agreement with Elektrovorteil, they can connect their public charging stations to the platform.

To facilitate emission trading, chargecloud automatically sends electricity consumption data to Elektrovorteil across a secure API connection. Customers can also access and embed an application for uploading vehicle registration documents directly into their own website.

Based on the charging and vehicle data received, Elektrovorteil calculates the company’s CO2 savings and markets those to quota-obligated entities. While generated revenue varies with market dynamics, major providers like Elektrovorteil can trade at favourable, wholesale prices, leading to attractive reward payments.

The icing on the cake is that Elektrovorteil manages all complex admin for charging station operators and e-mobility providers.

According to Marc Schubert, CEO of Elektrovorteil, "Historically, securing GHG quotas for charging points involved many manual steps. Our bespoke software transforms this landscape. Processes can now be digitally streamlined and automated, eliminating the need for tedious exports, formatting, uploads, and—perhaps most importantly— reducing the risk of system disruptions. It's a true game-changer."

Thanks to Elektrovorteil's software, customers can concentrate fully on their core operations while generating additional income through GHG quota trading.

Your next steps

Eager to capitalize on GHG quota management? Kickstart the journey by submitting an inquiry via the charge.marketplace and starting getting regular emission payments!