What kind of offsets do you focus on? People have different opinions on what is good enough, and not all are equal.
We primarily focus on renewable energy generation, as this has the greatest positive impact on the use of electric vehicles. Where you can, Technology in the countries we race in—One example is the solar and wind farms in Mexico City.
We are also investing in carbon capture and removal technology and are looking at ways to support the development of that technology. Although it is developing fairly rapidly, it is still a very emerging technology.
Why is the carbon footprint an order of magnitude lower than F1?
The amount of products we can take with us when we go out. We transport the minimum number of cars, tires, spare parts, people, etc. to minimize the number of boxes to be transported. If possible, transport by land or sea. We only fly when we need to fly an entire race series, and we can fit it all into three planes. We are looking at ways to reduce it to two.
And when it comes to flying, we’re looking at technologies like sustainable aviation fuel. We actually tried it at a race last year. From Berlin we move on to the next race.
Since the first race in 2014, has the technology of the sport trickled down to cars?
Well, it works both ways. We have benefited from the investment in EV technology by motor manufacturers around the world, some of the world’s brightest minds. OEM manufacturer We are working on battery development and EV powertrains. They have benefited from being part of a racing series where we push the limits of technology with every race.
A good example is Jaguar Land Rover. The Jaguar Formula E team learned about efficiency between batteries and powertrains on the racing track. They were able to use that learning to over-the-air software updates for the company’s I-PACE series of on-road electric vehicles. This increased the battery range of these cars by nearly 25 to 30 kilometers overnight.
When you look at people like Porsche, they use other things. That’s why the cars are equipped with features like attack mode and extra levels of power, adding 50 kilowatts during certain parts of the race. Their cars now have that button, and when you press it in the new Taycan, it unlocks more power in the car.
When Formula E started, there weren’t that many EVs on the road. It is now ubiquitous and considered high-performing and desirable. Many arguments for electrification have been won. Will this change Formula E’s future goals?
As you say, you can’t compare the vision of the sport in 2014 to the vision we have now. When this sport started in 2014, I think 800,000 EVs were sold worldwide that year. In the last 12 months, it’s probably somewhere between 15 million and 20 million.
We’re not in a situation like 2014, when we were telling you to consider buying an electric car. The current goal is to increase EV penetration from the current 50% to 100% and support this with further improvements in the technology. We’re obsessed with it through technology improvements for longer range, faster charging times, and better performance. Our focus on battery technology, fast charging, and efficiency are all ultimately about increasing the adoption of EVs.
Hear Jeff Dodds speak at the WIRED x Octopus Energy Tech Summit at Kraftwerk in Berlin on October 10th. Tickets are available at: energytechsummit.wired.com
