Formula E Can Drive Green Energy

The inaugural season of the world’s greenest sport came to a close at the end of last month as the final two Formula E races were hosted in London. Though car racing has not traditionally been associated with environmentally-friendly practices, Formula E seeks to change all that by using 100% renewable energy in its participating cars.

The Answer to a Growing Problem?

The plight of our environment has been well-documented over the last decade or so and the recognition that vehicle exhaust fumes contribute a significant amount to pollution has put the quality of our air firmly on the radar of forward-thinking businesses. Indeed, the Air Quality and Emissions Show, which took place earlier this year in April, made finding low-carbon alternatives to traditional vehicle engines a priority.

The success of Formula E in its first season might have gone some way to showing that electric vehicles (EVs) can offer a solution. Every car involved in the competition uses a special electric generator, which is charged using glycerine – a substance completely free from emissions. Not only is this form of energy clean, it’s also entirely renewable, meaning it will never run out.

As such, the cars used in Formula E overcome one of the major complaints about EVs in the past – that they still must be powered via the combustion of fossil fuels in order to charge them. To learn more about this and other drawbacks in the development of EVs (as well as a rundown of their advantages), check out the article Should I Buy an Electric Car?

The Driving Force Behind Renewables

The Formula E campaign has won the support of global big businesses, keen to demonstrate their willingness to participate in a changing attitude towards how we generate our fuels. Formula E teamed up with businesses like IKEA, InfoSys and Marks & Spencers to invest in the sport, while business tycoon Richard Branson’s Virgin had a vehicle participating in the event, which claimed the chequered flag in the ultimate race of the season.

Sam Bird of Virgin Racing took first place in the final race at Battersea Park in London, and Branson himself was very optimistic about the future of the sport and what it can do for renewable energy in the public eye.

“I think in four or five years you will find Formula E taking over from F1 in terms of number of people,” Branson told the media. “As time goes on, the clean energy type of business will power ahead of other businesses.”

Meanwhile, Peter Levermore, the chairman of RE100, the Climate Change initiative who partner all of the sponsors of the sport, was also sanguine about the effect Formula E can have on renewables in the mainstream. “With more than half the world’s electricity being used by the industrial and commercial sectors, this is our chance to shift the global energy market in favour of renewable power – helping us to transition to a prosperous, low-carbon future,” said Levermore.