Norsk Hydro (OTC:NHYDY) will supply Mercedes-Benz with low-carbon aluminium for a variety of models starting in 2023, including its electric EQ models. This is part of Mercedes-ill supply Mercedes-Benz with low-carbon aluminium for a variety of models starting in 2023, including its electric EQ models. This is part of Mercedes-Benz’s plan to decarbonize its supply chain, the companies said Thursday.
Mercedes-Benz already uses parts made by Hydro, and the company wants to use aluminium with almost no carbon by the end of 2030. It also wants to cut its CO2 emissions in half by 2030 and be CO2-neutral by 2039.
Aluminum is a lightweight metal that is used to make electric cars lighter and increase their range. Aluminum is also used in the batteries of electric cars.
Related: Mercedes-Benz is preparing its powertrain network for electric cars starting in 2024.
Markus Schaefer, the chief technology officer at Mercedes-Benz, said in a statement, “This is an important signal to speed up change in the aluminium industry and make more low-carbon aluminium available.”
The company that makes Mercedes-Benz cars said that a fully electric luxury limousine, including the battery, can have more than 700 kilogrammes of aluminium in it.
The two companies will also work together to find out more about how recycled aluminium with low carbon emissions can be used in cars.
Hydro’s low-carbon product, REDUXA 3.0, will have a carbon footprint of less than 3.0 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide per kilogramme of aluminium made. This is one kilogramme less than Hydro’s current low-carbon standard for primary metal.
In 2021, the average amount of CO2 per 1 kg of aluminium around the world was 16.7 kg.
The head of Hydro’s Aluminum Metal business, Eivind Kallevik, told Reuters, “This is a pretty big step.”
“We said last year that we would make 3.0 before 2025, but now we will do it in 2023 and sell it to one of our most demanding customers.”
Hydro takes scrap metal from the market and recycles it at one of its main plants in Norway so that it can be used in Mercedes-Benz cars.
“It’s mostly about figuring out what kind of scrap we can use, since the material has to meet standards for primary metal,” Kallevik said.
Related: Mercedes-Benz: Supply constraints are hurting sales of high-end battery-electric vehicles –CFO
He wouldn’t say how much Hydro thought it would sell to Mercedes-Benz because of the deal, but he did say that the numbers were “significant.”
