Column: Why High Gas Prices Harm E-Mobility

Gasoline and diesel prices are currently soaring to new record highs. "Hooray, you must be happy about that," acquaintances euphorically shout at one. They probably think this will drive more people to switch to e-mobility faster. And thus bring us more sales with charging infrastructure. It could happen – although it's not even necessary because the conversion rate has been exceeding the boldest forecasts for months.

Warning: All energy prices are interconnected!

The problem is that it is short-sighted to look at the fuel price in isolation. The prices of all energy forms are closely linked and interconnected. The market price for electricity, for example, is directly tied to the price of fossil fuels. There is practically no market price for renewable energies because the marginal costs are almost zero. Hydroelectric, wind, PV, and even nuclear power generate electricity almost for free once the plants are built. Therefore, the whole industry is oriented towards the price of electricity generated by the combustion of gas, oil, and coal. And if gas and oil become uncertain or scarce, then the price escalates alarmingly.

At first, you don't notice much of it because many energy providers purchase their needs on the market years in advance at fixed prices and thus "hedge" it. However, those who have benefited from spot market prices through special providers and have sometimes received cheap electricity during overproduction have experienced a rude awakening in recent weeks. Due to the lack of hedging, the current market's quarter-hour prices apply – driven by the global gas and oil price. If you were unlucky, you might fill your 100 kWh battery at 90 cents per kilowatt-hour. That amounts to about 90 euros. Which, in turn, would get you 40 liters of diesel. With that, you can comfortably travel 600 kilometers.

What does that mean?

Long story short: High gasoline prices hurt e-mobility because electricity becomes more expensive as well. But always think in terms of solutions: If you produce your own electricity, for example with your own PV system, you can cleverly counteract this unpleasant trend, as the marginal costs of your system are practically zero. Hooray!