Mercedes-Benz announced measures aimed at cutting CO2 emissions to at least half per passenger car over the lifecycle by the end of this decade compared to 2020 levels. To achieve this goal, Mercedes-Benz will electrify its vehicle fleet, charging with green energy, improving battery technology, and extensively use recycled materials and renewable energy in production. Mercedes-Benz plans to cover more than 70 per cent of its energy needs through renewable energy by 2030 by rolling out solar and wind power at its plants.
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG said, “The desire for individual mobility keeps growing. Our mission is to meet this need in a sustainable way. Mercedes-Benz has a clear roadmap on how to become carbon neutral. By 2030, we want to reach the halfway mark. To make faster progress in protecting the climate we need maximum dedication and more collaboration among governments, companies, and society.”
The aim is to achieve up to 50 percent share of plug-in hybrid and BEVs by 2025 on the way toward going all-electric by 2030 wherever market conditions allow. The portfolio already includes six, and soon nine, all-electric models. At present, Mercedes-Benz has the EQA, the EQB, the EQC, the EQS, the EQE 350+ as well as the EQV in its EQ range. Models such as the EQS SUV, the EQE SUV, and the EQT, will soon join the range. But it is the production of batteries for its EVs that is the biggest contributor.
And so, Mercedes-Benz would transition to CO2 neutral cell production, which would result in cutting down emissions by almost 20 per cent. Moreover, strategic partnerships are formed to develop highly advanced and competitive cell technologies. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz expects to be able to use LFP batteries in its series-production vehicles.
These batteries have a completely cobalt-free cathode. Together with research partners, the company is also working on solid-state batteries. To keep control of the battery lifecycle in-house, the company is starting a CO2-neutral recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany, to recycle end-of-life electric vehicle batteries using a new hydrometallurgical technique which increases the recycling rate to 96 per cent.
Another step that the German carmaker announced is setting up a green steel supply chain to expand its use of low-CO2 and zero‑CO2 steel. For this, the company will work closely with Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel (H2GS), with the aim of introducing green steel in several production models by as early as 2025.
