Mercedes-Benz is launching a new technology program aimed at reducing the CO2 footprint of its vehicles and increasing the share of recycled materials used in production.
The initiative, named "Tomorrow XX," covers the entire product portfolio, spanning from the development of new vehicles to the recycling of end-of-life cars, as the Stuttgart-based automaker announced on Thursday. "Innovation is the key to achieving this," said Olaf Schick, board member responsible for sustainability. Together with suppliers and partners, the program will be implemented throughout the entire supply chain. The automaker aims to rethink every single component from the ground up, explained Chief Technology Officer Jorg Burzer. There is enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle manufacturing, he added.
As part of the program, all components and materials will be reviewed to determine if they need to be redesigned for easier disassembly, repair, or recycling. More than 40 concepts have already emerged: for example, brake pads made using waste from old pads could be produced with 85 percent less CO2 emissions. A headlamp whose components are screwed rather than glued together makes repairs easier and produces only half as many CO2 emissions as before. When sourcing aluminum and steel, Mercedes-Benz relies on partners who manufacture these energy-intensive materials more sustainably, using renewable energy and a higher proportion of secondary raw materials.
In the long term, the company from Swabia intends to strategically use end-of-life vehicles as a source of raw materials ("urban mining"). To this end, Mercedes-Benz has launched a pilot project with a partner. A special focus is also placed on batteries, whose CO2 footprint in the supply chain is to be reduced, among other measures, by using green electricity in cell production. Additionally, the group is building its own pilot recycling plant for batteries in Kuppenheim to close the materials cycle.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, edited by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact the editorial management at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)
