Kia to return green energy to grid through charging network

Kia has partnered with German green energy firm Digital Charging Solutions to counteract the energy used by its electric vehicle charging service. 

The Korean car maker, which has its own charging network in collaboration with Ionity, will determine the electricity used at 300,000 charging points on the continent and ‘flood the grid’ with the equivalent amount of green energy. 

Kia says the energy will be purchased in megawatt-hours (MWhs) through guarantee of origin (GO) certificates. The energy will be supplied from wind power, which will be used to power the charge points and "other electrical items".

“By working with GO certificates, we guarantee that 100% of the energy consumed during each charging process is fed back into the power grid as electricity from European wind turbines,” said Digital Charging Solutions CEO Jörg Reimann.

“That makes the demand for green electricity visible on the market and helps to pave the way for a more sustainable future.”

Kia hopes its green energy purchase will allow customers to charge an electric car with 100% renewable energy, in line with its Plan S strategy, through which it will make its model range entirely electric by 2035.

“By pushing more green energy into the grid, we can increase the energy mix in favour of more sustainable sources,” said Kia Europe president Jason Jeong.

“In time, we hope to be part of a wider network that can work directly with renewable energy suppliers that offer customers 100% green charging facilities. However, until there's absolutely no grey energy on the grid, this latest action is a firm step in the right direction."

Kia says it has already supplied around 264MWh of charging to UK customers through the Kia Charge service, which it launched in February last year.

It's now supported by around 20,500 charge points, or 69% of the UK’s total network. 

Around 23 individual networks are a part of the firm’s network, including Pod Point, BP Pulse, Ionity and Instavolt.