Elevated raw material sustainability & lightweight efforts by German Automotive OEMs

Lightweight remains a major focus for global Automotive companies, but alternative powertrains, electrification and autonomious driving are becoming the overall strategic landmarks. Lightweight implementation consists of technology and materials. The following statements from OEM latest Annual and their Sustainability Reports confirm that lightweight and sustainable raw material sources are essential for future platforms. 

Volkswagen

“In view of the growing importance of e-mobility, lightweight automotive engineering is considered a key technology for future competitiveness because a lighter vehicle weight increases the range of electric vehicles. Our Material Research team plays a major role in the Open Hybrid LabFactory, a public-private partnership in which various industry and research partners work together to develop lightweight construction solutions for mass production.” (Annual Report 2018; p.139) 

“In fiscal year 2018, we filed 7.639 (6.566) patent applications worldwide for employee inventions, around half of them in Germany. The fact that an ever increasing share of these patents is for important cutting-edge fields underscores our Company’s innovative power. These fields include driver assistance systems and automation, connectivity, alternative drive systems and lightweight construction.” (Annual report 2018; p.139)

“We take advantage of new opportunities in body construction where we improve existing products or design new ones in the interests of functionality, quality, safety and environmental compatibility. Intelligent lightweight construction is the guiding principle here. For volume models, we use hot-formed, high-strength steel. Although energy consumption in production is higher, the lighter vehicle body allows a reduction in CO₂ emissions and thus an improvement in the overall environmental impact of the product. We also follow the vehicle and platform-specific mixed construction approach, i.e. we use various materials in a car body. At the same time, we use lightweight materials such as aluminum when developing new platforms.” (Annual Report 2018; p.59-60)

“Together with the RMI and the DRIVE Sustainability Working Group, we have produced a study on the sustainability risks in the raw materials sector entitled the “Material Change Report”. On this basis, we have prioritized the critical raw materials.” (Sustainability Report 2018; p.36)

“We observe our environmental impact over the entire life cycle and all stages of the value chain. This includes the manufacturing process with the extraction of raw materials, the manufacture of materials for the production process, the processes at our suppliers and our own production at our sites, the usage phase with vehicle emissions and the necessary provision of fuel and the ultimate recycling of the vehicle at the end of its life cycle.” (Sustainability Report 2018; p.56)

“We use the decarbonization index (DCI) as a strategic indicator in this context to document our progress. It measures products’ CO₂ emissions along the entire value chain. The DCI is calculated by dividing our carbon footprint by the number of vehicles sold. It thus incorporates both direct and indirect CO₂ emissions from the individual production sites as well as all other CO₂ emissions occurring throughout the life cycle of the vehicles sold – from the extraction of raw materials through the use phase to the recycling of end-of-life vehicles. We are currently defining the DCI target figures for 2025 together with the Volkswagen Group brands.” (Sustainability Report 2018; p.56)

 “We are stepping up efforts to use closed material loops in our production processes. When selecting raw materials, we opt for recycled ones obtained from production waste or old materials. When developing new vehicles, we pay attention to the recyclability of the required materials, use high-quality recycled material and avoid pollutants. In compliance with legal requirements in the EU, our vehicles are 85% recyclable and 95% recoverable at the end of their lives.” (Sustainability Report 2018; p.59)

Audi AG

 “From fall 2019, the sustainability rating will then be elevated to the status of a major decision-making criterion for the awarding of contracts to all suppliers. Only suppliers that achieve a positive rating have the prospect of becoming Audi partners. This will make sustainability just as important a selection criterion as costs, quality, technological expertise and innovativeness.” (Annual Report 2018; p.109)

 In the sustainability report they state: “Integrate sustainability into the supply of raw materials:

·     Analyze CO₂ emissions in the supply chain and derive potential measures for their reduction

·     Successive decarbonization of the supply chain together with suppliers”

(Sustainability Report 2018; p.10)

 Porsche:

In addition to a wide range of measures to increase efficiency – from lightweight construction and technologies for the optimisation of conventional combustion engines to the use of smart assistance systems. (Annual Report 2018; p.54)

The Procurement and Development Innivation Management team invites suppliers to engage with the theme of “alternative materials and lightweight construction”. (Annual Report 2018; p.122)

Porsche will also soon introduce a sustainability rating for all suppliers. (Annual Report 2018; p.122)

Daimler

 Their overall strategy states toward raw materials in SDG 12: “Responsible Consumption and Production by significantly reducing the use of primary raw materials for electric drive systems and reinforcing the material cycles of primary raw materials that are needed for our e-drive system, we are setting the course for sustainable production models in line with this SDG”. (Annual Report 2018; p.209)

 BMW

 “With an even greater focus on innovation and sustainability, BMWi embodies the vehicle of the future, with electric drivetrains, connectivity, intelligent lightweight construction, exceptional design and newly developed mobility services.” (Annual Report 2018; p.27)

 “Under the term Efficient Dynamics, the BMW Group has been successfully working for years on reducing fuel consumption and vehicle emissions through the development of highly efficient combustion engines, the electrification of drivetrains, intelligent lightweight construction, improved aerodynamics and coordinated energy management in vehicles.” (Annual Report 2018; p.29)

 “Sustainability criteria also play a key role in the selection and assessment of suppliers. The BMW Group has therefore comprehensively integrated sustainability management in its purchasing processes. This also includes greater transparency, which results from close collaboration between the Group and its suppliers. The BMW Group is also involved in initiatives aimed at standardising sustainability requirements and establishing verification mechanisms for critical raw materials.” (Annual Report 2018; p.64)