BMW Group sources aluminum produced using solar energy



(February 2, 2021) MUNICH, Germany — The BMW Group will begin sourcing aluminum produced using solar electricity with immediate effect. This marks an important milestone on the road to the company’s goal of lowering CO2 emissions in its supplier network by 20% by 2030. Since producing aluminum is highly energy-intensive, the use of green power — such as solar electricity — offers considerable potential for reducing CO2 emissions. That is why the BMW Group also plans to source aluminum produced with green power in the long term – enabling it to avoid approx. 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next 10 years.

“We aspire to lead the way in sustainability and implement our sustainability goals in a systematic manner. We will be able to meet over 50% of our CO2 targets for the supplier network, just by using green power. The use of solar electricity for producing aluminum is a major step in this direction,” said Dr. Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.

The aluminum produced using solar power is processed in the light metal foundry at BMW Group Plant Landshut to manufacture body and drive train components, including those needed for electric drive trains, for instance. Sourcing 43,000 tonnes of solar aluminum valued in the three-digit million euros will supply nearly half the annual requirements of the light metal foundry at Plant Landshut.


 
The trend towards e-mobility means that a much larger percentage of a vehicle’s lifecycle CO2 emissions now comes from upstream added value in the supplier network. In an electrified vehicle, CO2 emissions from the use phase are much lower, but producing battery cells or aluminum is very energy-intensive. Without corrective measures, CO2 emissions per vehicle in the BMW Group supply chain would increase by more than a third by 2030. The company not only wants to stop this trend, but also reverse it — and even lower CO2 emissions per vehicle by 20% from 2019 levels.

The BMW Group has therefore already agreed with suppliers for its current fifth-generation battery cells that they will only use green power for producing battery cells.

The BMW Group is now taking the next logical step by sourcing aluminum produced with green power. Because, as e-mobility takes off, aluminum will become increasingly important as a lightweight material that can partially offset the heavy weight of the batteries in electrified vehicles. However, producing aluminum is extremely energy-intensive. Generating the electricity needed to produce primary aluminum, i.e. aluminum obtained directly from the mineral compound alumina, is alone responsible for about 60% of the global aluminum industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. The use of solar electricity is therefore an effective lever for reducing the CO2 emissions associated with aluminum smelting.
 
The BMW Group already has a long-standing supply relationship for primary aluminum with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA). EGA has now become the first company in the world to also use solar electricity for commercial production of aluminum, which it will initially supply exclusively to the BMW Group. EGA sources the electricity used to produce the aluminum destined for the BMW Group from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the desert outside of Dubai, which, in the final stage of development, is set to become the world’s largest solar park. It is operated by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which has the electricity it produces sustainably certified by third parties, ensuring that it can supply EGA with power that is traceable and transparent.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive officer of EGA, said: “We are delighted to have the BMW Group as our first customer for low-carbon CelestiAL aluminum from EGA. Aluminum is light, strong and infinitely recyclable. That is why it plays such an important role in the development of a more sustainable society and in making modern life possible. But how sustainably the aluminum is produced is also important. Solar aluminum is a step in the right direction – it uses a natural and abundant source of energy in our desert environment to produce a metal that is vital to the future of our planet.”

Wendt adds: “In EGA, we have found a strong partner who values sustainable development just as much as we do. It is a special honor for us to be the first customer to receive aluminum produced using solar electricity. Aluminum plays an important role in e-mobility and using sustainably produced aluminum is tremendously important to our company.”