BMW Group accelerates CO2 reduction and focuses consistently on a circular economy with the Neue Klasse – Automotive World

The BMW Group is increasing the pace of its efforts to combat climate change. Looking ahead to the introduction of the Neue Klasse, the company is further strengthening its self-defined objectives, announced in summer last year, to significantlyreduce CO2 emissions, whilst also committing itself to a clear course that supports the1.5 degree targetfor the limitation of global warming. The Neue Klasse will also see the BMW Group hugely increase its use ofsecondary materialswith a firm focus on the principles of thecircular economy, whilst also promoting better framework conditions for establishing a market for secondary materials.

To achieve a furtherreduction in CO2 emissions, the focus is on theutilisation phaseof vehicles, which account for 70% of the BMW Groups CO2 footprint.By 2030, the CO2 emissions per vehicle and kilometre driven will beat least halvedfrom 2019 levels. The commitment of all manufacturers when it comes to combatting climate change can best be compared when looking at theentire life cycleof a vehicle, including production and upstream supply chain. Here, the BMW Group is planning areduction of CO2 emission per vehicle of at least 40%.

How companies are dealing with CO2 emissions has become a major factor when it comes to judging corporate action. The decisive factor in the fight against global warming is how strongly we can improve the carbon footprint of vehicles over their entire life span. This is why we are setting ourselves transparent and ambitious goals for the substantial reduction of CO2 emissions; these are validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative and will deliver an effective and measurable contribution, saidOliverZipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in Munich on Thursday. With the Neue Klasse we are significantly sharpening our commitment and also committing ourselves to a clear course for achieving the 1.5 degree target.

The BMW Group is the first German carmaker to join theBusiness Ambition for 1.5Cof theScience Based Targets Initiativeand is committed to the goal of full climate neutrality over the entire value-added chain by 2050 at the latest. This means that the company is also part of theinternational Race to Zero Initiative. The company is convinced that this can be achieved using innovation, rather than any overall ban on individual technologies.

The most powerful driver on this path to climate neutrality is electric mobility, with the BMWGroups Neue Klasse set to provide significant further momentum to the market. During the next ten years or so, the company will be putting aroundten million all-electric vehicles on the road. As early as2030, at least halfof global BMWGroup sales will beall-electric vehicles, with theMINIbrand offeringexclusively all-electric vehiclesfrom 2030.

The BMW Group continues to comply with thestringent criteriaof the Science Based Targets Initiative, when it comes to measuring the reduction of worldwide CO2 emissions of the companys vehicles whilst they are being driven on the roads. For example, emissions from the production of fuel or electricity are included in the calculation and consumption is based on the WLTP cycle plus ten percent. With its current product and electrification strategy, the company is on track to meet the EU fleet target for 2030.

BMW Group is clear that simply increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road does not automatically lead to climate-friendly mobility. The company understands that it is also crucial to reduce the use of primary material and the related environmentally harmfulexploitation of resourcesand their often CO2-intensive processing especially when it comes to car manufacturing, one of the most resource-intensive industries.

2017 was the first time the worlds population consumed more than 100 billion tons of resources within a single year a trend which we in the automotive industry must also counteract,Zipsedemanded. This is a strategic issue, concerning not only ecological but also economic sustainability; the current development of commodity prices demonstrates the impact an industry that is dependent on limited resources must expect.

With the number of battery-powered vehicles growing, there isincreasing demand for many commodities such as cobalt, nickel and aluminium, which are required for the vehicles high-voltage batteries. However there is great potential for the reuse of materials in the sense of a circular economy and together with specialist partners, the BMW Group has already demonstrated that its technological feasible to achieve a recycling efficiency of over 90 percent.

The amount ofsecondary nickelused for the high-voltage battery in theBMW iXis already as high as 50 percent, with the battery housing containing up to 30 percentsecondary aluminium.The BMW Group aims to improve these figures even further for future product generations.

In addition to the increasingly scare availability of primary materials and resulting commodity price increases, there are manysustainability reasonsto use more secondary materials and move towards a circular economy.

Thesupplyof secondary materials is considerablylessCO2-intensivethan is the case with primary materials and can significantly improve the CO2 footprint, especially within the supply chain. In the case of secondary aluminium, the CO2 saving compared with primary material constitutes a factor of approximately 4 to 6, whilst steel and thermoplastics lie between around 2 and 5.

The extraction of resources for primary materials particularly through mining has a significant impact on the basicregenerative capacity of ecosystems. This impact can be greatly reduced by increasing the use of secondary materials.

The mining and trading ofconflict materialscarries the possible risk of associated infringements of environmental and social standards. The BMW Group has established numerous measures to counteract this risk, including membership of the Responsible Minerals Initiative. However, the most efficient strategy for avoiding risks is tominimise the mining of such primary materials.

As part of its holistic approach to sustainability, the BMW Group aims to increase significantly the percentage of secondary materials in its vehicles. On average, current vehicles are manufactured using almost30 percentrecycled and reusable materials. With theSecondary Firstapproach, BMW Group plans to successivelyraise this figure to 50 percent.

Of course its crucial that the quality, safety and reliability of the materials comply with the same high standards as those existing for primary materials and so its essential that the market availability of such high-quality materials increases considerably. In order to achieve this, cross-industry approaches and political initiatives are necessary.

Based on the four principlesRe:think, Re:duce, Re:use, Re:cycle,the BMWGroup is boosting its activities in the field of circular economy, an area where its carrying out pioneering work. For instance, vehicle production now involves the increased separation and recycling of crucial material groups, so these can be reused by the industry within the framework of closed loops.

Within the supply chain and depending on market availability, secondary materials are increasingly being used in BMW Group vehicles. Moreover, together with its partners, the company is providing important impetus when it comes to developing secondary materials. One example is the companys pilot project withBASFand theALBA Groupfor the increased recycling of plastics used in cars.

The aim of the project is to reduce the use of primary plastics by means of a comprehensiverecycling system. To this end, the ALBA Group analyses end-of-life BMW Group vehicles to establish whether a car-to-car reuse of the plastic is possible. In a second step, BASF assesses whetherchemical recyclingof the pre-sorted waste can be used in order to obtain pyrolysis oil. This can be then used as a basis for new products made of plastic. In the future, a new door trim or other components could be manufactured from a used instrument panel, for example.

In order to achievehigher recycling ratesand whilst also guaranteeing thehigh quality of secondary materials, the materials must be extracted in their purest form as early as possibly during therecycling process. For example, the onboard wiring systems must be easy to remove, in order to avoid mixing steel with copper from the cable harnesses in the vehicles. If this mixing does take place, the secondary steel loses its essential material properties and therefore no longer meets thehigh safety requirementsof the automotive industry. To support this early and easy extraction of materials, the interior of a car must increasingly be made ofmonomaterials, so that at the end of the cars lifecycle, as much as possible can be transferred back into the usable material cycle. Basically, reducing the number of materials can help to improve the quality of recycled materials. Currently, vehicles consist of about 8,000 to 10,000 different materials.

To achieve this, the BMW Group is now focusing on aCircular Designconcept, which is designed to guarantee theeconomical dismantling capacityof vehicles. It is essential that disassembly of the vehicle and its individual components is fast and cost-efficient to ensure that prices ofsecondary materialsare competitive. It all starts with theconstruction of the vehicle, which must be done in such a way that allows materials to be removed at the end of the vehicles service life without different types of material being mixed with each other.

The BMW Group is putting circular economy at the centre of its presence at the IAAMobility 2021 in Munich, where the company will offer a visionary outlook on the potentials of a circular economy and sustainable mobility. TheBMW i Vision Circularembodies the companys ambitious claim to be the most sustainable manufacturer for individual premium mobility.

This visionary vehicle, designed according to the four principles of the circular economy Re:think, Re:duce, Re:use, Re:cycle, shows how individual, sustainable and luxurious urban mobility could look in 2040. The BMW i Vision Circular is manufactured from 100 percent secondary materials or renewable raw materials, and is 100 percent recyclable.

This car demonstrates that climate protection and individual mobility do not necessarily contradict each other. On the contrary, it shows that using new technologies and innovation, the BMW Group can fulfill the planets requirements for greater sustainability without customers having to forgo individual mobility.

SOURCE: BMW Group