Calculator
How much CO2 does electric driving avoid?
Tailpipe, well-to-wheel and the battery, for your kilometres. Every factor comes from a named source.
Calculate it for your own kilometres
EV Database, Energy consumption of full electric vehicles cheatsheet
The rest uses the CBS grid mix. A green contract sets those kWh to 0 kg in this sum.
2,805 kWh per year · 18.7 kWh/100 km
| Tailpipe (tank-to-wheel) | Well-to-wheel | |
|---|---|---|
| Electric | 0 kg | 561 kg |
| Petrol | 2,250 kg | 2,940 kg |
With the battery included, once: Electric 3,261 kg, Petrol 2,940 kg per year. The comparison car has no production emissions in this sum.
Battery break-even: 17,024 km (1.1 years at this annual distance).
Fuel and the battery are in kg CO2-equivalent. The CBS factor is kg CO2 per kWh, not CO2-equivalent. The break-even mixes those units.
Yearly kilograms are rounded to whole kilograms.
Example at the defaults
15,000 km, 18.7 kWh per 100 km, petrol, 0% green contract.
- Electric, tailpipe0 kg
- Electric, well-to-wheel561 kg
- Petrol, tailpipe2,250 kg
- Petrol, well-to-wheel2,940 kg
- Electric, including the battery3,261 kg
- Petrol, well-to-wheel (no production)2,940 kg
View the figures
| Boundary | kg per year |
|---|---|
| Electric, tailpipe | 0 |
| Electric, well-to-wheel | 561 |
| Petrol, tailpipe | 2,250 |
| Petrol, well-to-wheel | 2,940 |
| Electric, including the battery | 3,261 |
| Petrol, well-to-wheel (no production) | 2,940 |
Factors retrieved on October 13, 2026. CO2-emissiefactoren 2026, personenvervoer
Method
What is in the sum, and what is not
The electric car's tailpipe is 0. Well-to-wheel is consumption in kWh times 0.20 kg CO2 per kWh, except the share you charge at home on a green contract: that share is 0. The default consumption is 18.7 kWh per 100 km (EV Database, Energy consumption of full electric vehicles cheatsheet, September 27, 2026). Pick a model and it is the median WLTP from the EEA data, retrieved on September 27, 2026. That is a laboratory figure.
The comparison cars come from the 2026 CO2 factor list, in kg CO2-equivalent per vehicle-kilometre. Benzine Middel: 0.150 tailpipe and 0.196 well-to-wheel. Diesel Middel: 0.169 and 0.224. Benzine Plug-in hybride (PHEV): 0.135 and 0.180. A hybrid without a plug is no longer in that list. We multiply these grams. We do not start from litres.
STREAM passenger transport 2022, table 21, gives 2.2 MJ per km for an average petrol car and 2.3 MJ per km for diesel. Dividing the petrol factor by petrol E10 (2.794 kg per litre, well-to-wheel) gives about 7.0 litres per 100 km. The list does not print those litres. We do not use the 2.3 MJ for diesel: they do not land on the 2026 factor. For the plug-in, STREAM assumes 30% electric kilometres. We do not apply that percentage again, and the green slider does not change the plug-in.
The battery is table 2.4 of the ICCT study of 2021: 45 kWh times 60 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh is 2.7 tonnes, for a European lower-medium car registered in 2021. That amount counts once, not per year, and it does not scale with the selected model. The body and the drivetrain are not included. The comparison car has no production emissions here. Break-even is the distance at which the well-to-wheel saving equals those 2.7 tonnes. Fuel and the battery are CO2-equivalent, the CBS factor is CO2. The break-even mixes those units.
The 2026 list also has a factor for an electric car on the average grid mix: 0.056 kg CO2-equivalent per km. We do not use it, because you enter your own consumption here. We also do not use that list's grid mix (0.244 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh, including the chain and 4.06% grid losses). The sum follows the CBS figure of 0.20 kg CO2 per kWh.
ERE
What an ERE is in climate terms
ERE means emission reduction unit. The scheme counts renewable electricity delivered to transport toward the fuel suppliers' obligation. In that accounting, one ERE is 1 kg of emission reduction against the fossil reference. For ordinary grid electricity the standard on this site in 2026 uses the national renewable share of 50.5%. That is 50.54% for 2024, rounded, and it gives 0.33269 ERE per kWh. The 2025 share is 54.73% and is not in that factor. A green contract on grid electricity does not change the factor.
The kilograms above are a different calculation. We do not subtract EREs from them, and we do not add an ERE as an extra saving.
Sources
- CBS, Energie- en emissiefactoren elektriciteit, update 2024 0.20 kg CO2 per kWh of electricity produced, 2024, integral method. Published December 5, 2025.
- CO2-emissiefactoren 2026, personenvervoer Benzine Middel 150 and 196 g, diesel 169 and 224 g, plug-in hybrid 135 and 180 g per km (tailpipe and well-to-wheel). Electric, average grid mix: 56 g per km, not used in the sum.
- CE Delft, STREAM Personenvervoer 2022, tabel 21 Petrol 2.2 MJ per km, diesel 2.3 MJ per km. Plug-in: 30% of kilometres electric in that study. The diesel megajoules and that percentage are not in the sum.
- CO2-emissiefactoren 2026, benzine E10 2.794 kg CO2-equivalent per litre, well-to-wheel. Used only to turn the petrol factor into about 7.0 litres per 100 km.
- CO2-emissiefactoren 2026, windkracht en zonne-energie, totaal Total 0 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh for wind and solar. Infrastructure separate: wind 0.016, solar 0.062 kg per kWh. Grid mix, not used: 0.244 kg per kWh, of which production 0.200 and chain 0.044, including 4.06% grid losses.
- ICCT, A global comparison of the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars, 2021, table 2.4 Table 2.4, Europe, lower-medium, cars registered in 2021, sales-weighted battery supply: 60 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh, 45.0 kWh, 2.7 tonnes.
- EV Database, Energy consumption of full electric vehicles cheatsheet 18.7 kWh per 100 km, checked on September 27, 2026.
- European Environment Agency (EEA), Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars - Regulation (EU) 2019/631 WLTP consumption (field Z, Wh per km) of battery-electric passenger cars first registered in the Netherlands. Retrieved on September 27, 2026. Laboratory, not corrected.
- Regeling energie vervoer The regulation that sets out EREs.
- NEa, Hernieuwbare energie voor vervoer (ERE) Explanation from the Dutch Emissions Authority.
- NEa, Inboeken van elektriciteit How electricity for transport is booked.
Questions
How much CO2 does electric driving avoid per year?
Drive 15,000 km a year and charge without a green contract, and an electric car emits 0 kg at the tailpipe and 561 kg CO2 well-to-wheel. Consumption is 18.7 kWh per 100 km. The electricity factor is 0.20 kg CO2 per kWh produced in 2024 (integral method, CBS, December 5, 2025). Against Benzine Middel (CO2 emission factors 2026) that is 2,250 kg less at the tailpipe and 2,379 kg less well-to-wheel. The battery counts once, at 2,700 kg CO2-equivalent (ICCT 2021, 45 kWh, 60 kg per kWh). Count that battery entirely against this year and the electric car is still 321 kg higher. The battery break-even is about 17,024 km.
What is the difference between tailpipe and well-to-wheel?
Tailpipe (tank-to-wheel) is what the car itself emits. For electric driving that is 0. Well-to-wheel also counts production of the fuel or the electricity. For electricity we use 0.20 kg CO2 per kWh produced in 2024, the CBS integral method. That factor is CO2, not CO2-equivalent, and it leaves out the fuel chain, grid losses and imports.
Does a green contract count as zero CO2?
In this sum it does, for the share you charge at home on a green contract. The 2026 CO2 factor list sets wind and solar to 0 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh in the total column. Building the turbine or the panel is separate (0.016 and 0.062 kg per kWh) and is not included here. A green contract does not change the physical grid mix, and it does not change the ERE factor.
What is an ERE in this calculation?
The scheme counts renewable electricity delivered to transport toward the fuel suppliers' obligation. In that accounting, one ERE is 1 kg of emission reduction against the fossil reference. For grid electricity in 2026 the standard on this site uses 50.5% renewable, which is 0.33269 ERE per kWh. That percentage is 50.54% for 2024, rounded. The 2025 share is 54.73% and is not in the factor. A green contract does not change the factor. This calculator does not subtract EREs from the kilograms.
Why is the battery a fixed number?
The ICCT study of 2021 gives a European lower-medium car with a 45 kWh battery a production figure of 60 kg CO2-equivalent per kWh, 2.7 tonnes together. Models on this site have no battery size, so we do not scale the figure. The rest of the car (body and drivetrain) is not included. The comparison car has no production emissions in this sum either.