Engineius Q&A with elmo
Engineius’ mission is to make vehicle movement easy. Whilst we’re focused on this as our primary objective, we’re also determined to do things the right way on the journey.
Whilst we’re doing some great stuff already, such as providing our self-employed drivers with benefits and protections usually reserved for employed workers via Collective Benefits, we want to do more.
As such, we are using our platform to bring attention to not only what we want to achieve, but what other leading companies have already achieved.
Olly Jones, Co-founder of elmo
Carbon offsetting is an area that is high on our list for the future. elmo, the EV subscription service, already offsets all the carbon associated with the manufacture of its fleet and is part of TechNation’s NetZero programme.
We recently spoke with Olly Jones of elmo about all things elmo, and the environment. Below is the full transcript of our interview. If you’re short on time, here are the top three things we’ve selected for you to know:
1. Grow and be green!
Start ups do not have to wait until they are big and profitable to be environmentally responsible. On the contrary, consumers and business decision makers alike are increasingly looking for environmental credentials when selecting goods, services and suppliers.
2. Car subscription is green and will boom
Subscriptions have already transformed a number of verticals as consumer preferences shift away from ownership to access. There were an estimated 6000-7000 subscription vehicles in the UK at the end of 2020, and that number is forecasted to grow to 600,000 by 2025. Shifting from ownership to usership reduces the total number of vehicles required by decreasing idle time on driveways.
3. EV carbon footprints are complex
EV's currently require more energy to manufacture in comparison to running one. In countries with high levels of renewable energy (like Norway), the carbon produced as a result of generating the energy to run the car is close to zero. In countries that still rely heavily on coal (like Germany), the carbon intensity in electricity production is higher and so, therefore, is the carbon footprint of the electricity used to run the car.
For more information about elmo, visit https://elmodrive.com/ or follow their journey on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
Engineius’ Q&A with elmo - full interview
1. In a few words, what does elmo do?
elmo is the world’s first Net Zero electric car subscription platform and we’re on a mission to help more people switch to electric cars sooner.
Essentially, we make it easy for people to switch to an EV by offering electric cars for the same price as a lease, but without the deposit, without the long contract and with everything needed to run the car (insurance, maintenance, breakdown, charging and even a carbon offset to account for manufacturing emissions) included in the monthly package.
2. Will subscriptions ever really catch on?
Subscriptions have already transformed a number of verticals as consumer preferences shift away from ownership to access. We don’t see why the auto industry can’t undergo a similar transformation (there were an estimated 6000-7000 subscription vehicles in the UK at the end of 2020 and that number is forecasted to grow to 600,000 by 2025).
At elmo, we think of subscription as a ‘re-imagining of the traditional lease model to fit the needs of modern consumers’; and we want to use that as a mechanism to make electric cars more accessible to more people sooner.
By removing the deposit and long contract but keeping our prices competitive with lease deals, our offer is very attractive to a broad demographic of drivers so we (and our customers) see no reason why subscriptions won’t catch on.
3. Is the car subscription model in itself green?
The greenest thing you can do, when it comes to mobility, is walk or cycle. But that doesn’t get away from the fact that, for many people, a car is a necessity.
At elmo, we view it as our job to help those people who need a car make it a ‘green’ one. (And with our carbon offset - included as standard in the subscription - we make sure that it really is a green choice by offsetting the manufacturing emissions over time.) So, in that sense, where we’re using the model to accelerate adoption of EVs in a Net Zero way, our subscription model is green.
But we’re also conscious that private car ownership - where cars sit un-utilised on driveways the majority of the time - is not a green and efficient use of resources. Fewer cars, utilised more is a greener model. So, we’re looking at how we can integrate car-sharing into our model and have already kicked off a pilot with Karshare.
This allows elmo subscribers to earn money off their subscription by sharing the car when they’re not using it. It also allows customers who don’t need regular access to a car, to use an electric car when they do decide to get a car for the weekend, for example.
4. What is the most effective step that an automotive company can take to reduce its carbon footprint?
The three pillars of reducing an individual’s carbon footprint are: switch to a plant-based diet, convert to renewable energy and travel by electrified transport. The first is going to be hard for companies to apply, but the second and third remain applicable.
Switching to a renewable energy provider is the easier of the two but can be taken a step further by investing in solar panels, battery storage etc.
However, fleet electrification is likely to be the most impactful but also the most complicated step that companies operating a fleet can take. Aside from the expense, it’s further complicated by the fact that running a fleet of zero emission vehicles doesn’t yet mean that the company in question is Net Zero - this is because the manufacturing and supply processes are still carbon intensive.
That’s where working with a carbon offsetting scheme can help companies understand and account for their full carbon footprint.
5. How do the emissions from manufacturing an EV compare to running one? Could also be phrased as: To what extent should companies think about the emissions of their supply chains as well as their direct day to day business?
EV's currently require more energy to manufacture and have a higher carbon intensity in their supply chain than ICE vehicles. This is largely due to the battery. For reference, a Nissan Leaf manufactured in the UK will have a carbon footprint of roughly 10t compared to about 6t for a Toyota Prius (also made in the UK).
This will come down in time as we decarbonize our energy sources and improve efficiencies in the manufacturing process. However, the fact remains that producing EVs is more carbon-intensive than their ICE counterparts.
This is obviously offset by the lack of tailpipe emissions, but the impact of this depends on the carbon intensity of the grid used to charge the cars during their lifetime.
In countries with high levels of renewable energy (like Norway), the carbon produced as a result of generating the energy to run the car is close to zero.
In countries that still rely heavily on coal (like Germany), the carbon intensity in electricity production is higher and so, therefore, is the carbon footprint of the electricity used to run the car.
This has a large impact on the overall carbon reductions resulting from switching to an electric car.
For example in Norway where they have a near zero carbon grid, the total CO2 emissions (from manufacturing and running) over a 150,000km lifespan of a Nissan Leaf are 10t (and this all comes from manufacturing). Over the same lifespan a Toyota Prius will be responsible for around 25t of emissions (from manufacturing and running). This means that after about 30,000km the Nissan Leaf will have a net carbon benefit over the Toyota Prius.
But in Germany, the Nissan Leaf will have a total life cycle carbon footprint of just over 19t of CO2 because more energy used to run it will come from non-renewable sources. This means that the Nissan Leaf only becomes net carbon positive at about 100,000km relative to the Toyota Prius.
In the UK, based on our current grid energy mix, the lifecycle emissions for a Nissan Leaf are currently about 14t, and it becomes net carbon positive relative to the Prius after about 60,000km. Over a 150,000km lifecycle it will save 10t of carbon emissions versus the Prius (a 45% reduction).
As we continue to decarbonize the grid, we will get ever closer to the Norway example, where carbon savings of the Leaf relative to the Prius are 15t, or a 60% reduction in emissions.
6. How did you go about selecting a partner for offsetting your emissions?
We knew ClimateCare by reputation and, during the workshop they ran with us, were impressed by their carbon accounting process as well as the ancillary benefits of their projects, on top of the primary goal of carbon reduction.
For example, one of their offset schemes replaces old open stoves in sub-Saharan Africa with far more efficient alternatives; this has the additional benefit of reducing their exposure to toxic fumes and improving community health.
7. What's your next/ultimate environmental goal?
Our 3-year mission is to help at least 10,000 people switch to an electric vehicle, saving c.60,000 tonnes of CO2 a year in the process. Ultimately, we would like to use the subscription model to democratise access to other green technologies and empower consumers to tackle the primary sources of their carbon footprint.
We’ve started with transport but we could equally apply the same model to new, low-carbon heating technologies - all with integrated renewable energy and smart systems to maximize the carbon benefits. So watch this space!
For more information about elmo, visit https://elmodrive.com/ or follow their journey on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.