Volvo wants to build cars from carbon-neutral steel by 2026

In order not to go completely KO in the fight against climate change, we must give environmental protection a significantly higher priority in the next few years. In addition to replacing climate-damaging coal electricity with sustainably produced green electricity, other industries are also in demand. In addition to the construction industry, which has to research alternatives to classic concrete, the automotive industry is more in demand than ever.

The fact that many car companies have heard the wake-up call can be seen from many reports in recent years. VW would like to become a pioneer in electric vehicles, and its own subsidiary Audi would not even bring any new models with combustion engines onto the market this decade. Nevertheless, one material remains a major climate killer: steel!

After all, steel makes up a large proportion of the billions of tons of carbon dioxide that end up in the atmosphere every year. The reason is that the blast furnaces required for production require large amounts of energy, while at the same time carbon dioxide is released when iron ore and oxygen are separated. The manufacturer Volvo also sees this and wants to manufacture vehicles from climate-neutral steel by 2026.

It is assumed that the steel used in combustion engines is responsible for 35 percent of the ecological footprint in production; for electric vehicles it is 20 percent. The goal of using only sustainable steel could be achieved through the use of hydrogen, which would reduce emissions by up to 90 percent. A prerequisite for this is green hydrogen.

A concept for this is to be developed by 2025, and the first model is to roll off the production line in 2026. The step is not particularly surprising if the group wants to operate in a climate-neutral manner by 2040 at the latest. So it is possible that Volvo could become a model for other manufacturers.

Own opinion:

In order for us to be more climate-neutral in the future, we have to consider the CO2 emissions of a product over its entire life cycle. It starts with the raw materials, the journey ends with scrapping. Electric vehicles in particular could improve their balance sheet with sustainable steel, the only question is whether there is enough green hydrogen available for future production. Once this has been achieved, the environment should be happy.

Via The Guardian