On April 11, Mercedes-Benz Group AG held the first ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) Forum for investors and analysts to announce specific measures to reduce carbon emissions. Mercedes-Benz will accelerate its transition to "all-electric" and reduce the carbon footprint of each passenger car by an average of 50% by 2030 compared to 2020.
To achieve this goal, Mercedes-Benz will take a number of key initiatives, including electrification of its product lineup, greening of charging energy, upgrading of battery technology, and extensive adoption of recycled materials and renewable energy in its production processes. Mercedes-Benz plans to meet more than 70% of its energy needs with renewable energy by 2030 by promoting the use of solar and wind energy at major production sites and purchasing additional energy through ppas.
Widespread adoption of renewable energy sources.
In terms of products, by 2025, Mercedes-Benz strives to increase the proportion of plug-in hybrid and pure electric models to 50%; by 2030, it will be fully prepared for full pure electric in the market where conditions permit. At present, Mercedes-Benz electric product lineup has included 6 models, namely EQA, EQB, EQC, EQS, EQE and EQV. With the introduction of EQS SUVs, EQE SUVs and EQTs, the number of pure electric models will increase to 9. Mercedes-Benz will also continue to promote the electrification of all products and strengthen its leading position in the electrification of light commercial vehicles.
"Green charging" provides renewable energy power for electric vehicles.
In terms of batteries, batteries are the most powerful gripper to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In the current EU's power mix, supply chains and production account for more than half of its CO2 emissions over its entire life cycle. The use of renewable energy can significantly reduce the share of carbon emissions in the supply and production chains, and after the shift to carbon-neutral production, the overall emissions of battery packs in the production process will be reduced by 20%.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz plans to further reduce CO2 emissions in the battery production process by improving the battery anode and cathode production processes. To this end, Mercedes-Benz actively develops strategic partners, works together to develop advanced and competitive battery technology, and works together to promote industrialization. By around 2025, high-silicon anode batteries will exceed 800 Watt-Hours per liter, with great potential in terms of battery energy density.
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz will also be equipped with lithium iron phosphate batteries for mass production models, which has the advantage that the cathode is completely cobalt-free. Mercedes-Benz is working with partners to develop solid-state batteries, in order to achieve autonomous control of the whole life cycle of batteries, Mercedes-Benz is planning to establish a carbon neutral recycling plant in Kubenheim, Germany, using new hydrometallurgical technology to recycle end-of-life electric vehicle batteries, increasing the recovery rate to 96%.
In addition to this, mercedes-benz will comprehensively reduce carbon emissions in terms of raw materials such as steel and aluminum, and mass production of sustainable materials to achieve sustainable development.