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Transformation of mobility
Erstellungsdatum: 13.06.2023

GHG quota in Austria at a glance

This year, the time has also come in Austria: e-mobilists can be paid for the fact that their vehicle is powered with sustainable not equipped with fossil fuels, but with sustainable electric drives. In this article you will learn everything about the GHG quota in Austria.

 

What is the GHG quota?

The term GHG quota is the abbreviation of "greenhouse gas reduction quota" and is sometimes also referred to as "GHG premium", "eQuote" or "ePremium" and called "Treibhausgasminderungsquote" / "THG" in Austria and Germany.

The GHG quota was introduced as an economic policy tool to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the transportation sector, promote renewable energy, and replace fossil fuels and polluting propulsion technologies with more sustainable alternatives in the long term.

Companies that put fossil fuels into circulation in Austria are legally required by the KVO to reduce their emissions annually. If the GHG quota is not met, the companies have to pay high compensation amounts.

The GHG quota enables e-mobilists to exchange the CO2 they save via SMATRICS and carbonify for the THG premium.

 

KVO amendment as legal basis for the GHG quota

The amendment to the Fuel Ordinance ("Kraftstoffverordnung" / KVO) forms the legal basis of the GHG regulation for Austria. In this ordinance, companies that place fossil fuels on the market in Austria are required to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: From extraction to refining & processing to combustion, GHG emissions must be demonstrably reduced or GHG quotas must be purchased.

The renewable portion from electric power charged in e-vehicles can also be counted as GHG mitigation through the KVO amendment. Companies that circulate fossil fuels can either operate charging stations for e-vehicles themselves or meet their GHG mitigation obligation by crediting the electricity of other charging station operators. In this context, verifiably measured electricity quantities at public and semi-public charging points in Austria, such as the charging stations in the High Power Charging network of SMATRICS EnBW, can be credited.

 

THG premium for e-mobilists

The GHG quota benefits owners of e-vehicles registered in Austria that are two-lane battery electric vehicles such as passenger cars, vans and buses or trucks. 

The basis for calculating the premium is the amount of electricity that can be demonstrably allocated to the respective e-vehicle at a private (non-public) charging point.

Formally, this credit is only applied in the following year, but SMATRICS and carbonify make it possible to receive the GHG premium in Austria in advance for the current year 2023 as THG premium.