Polestar to Collaborate With its Suppliers to Speed up the Development of an Entirely Climate Neutral Electric Car by 2030

author: Eric Walz   

Volvo's new electric-only brand Polestar is all about sustainability. As part of a new initiative, The company is asking its suppliers to help it achieve its goal of producing an entirely climate neutral EV by 2030.

Some of the world's leading automotive industry suppliers, including SSAB, Hydro, ZF, ZKW and Autoliv, have agreed to join forces and collaborate with Polestar to help the company reduce its climate impact and reach its goal.

Polestar said it signed a letter of intent to collaborate with select strategic partners on vehicle components such as metals, tires, safety, driving systems and electronics. The four categories are the area of focus of Polestar's Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), which were found to make up the bulk of Polestar's current carbon footprint from producing electric vehicles. 

The LCAs have helped Polestar to identify the core components and processes involved in producing electric cars that need to be reimagined in order to reduce and eliminate carbon emissions from the manufacturing of EVs.

As part of the agreements, Polestar's steel and metals supplier SSAB intends to collaborate with Polestar on "fossil-free" steel, which could potentially replace not only conventional steel in a car but also other materials with significant carbon footprints, according to Polestar.

Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company Hydro intends to collaborate with Polestar's experts on zero-carbon aluminum, while automotive supplier ZF intends to work with Polestar on ways to reduce carbon emissions from electric powertrain and vehicle systems components that the company supplies to the automaker.

Automotive safety supplier Autoliv intends to partner with Polestar on safety equipment such as airbags and seatbelt manufacturing with zero emissions. Polestar's lighting supplier ZKW also intends to team up with Polestar on the climate-neutral production of electrical control systems and wiring.

"It was clear from the start that this is not a solo-mission and we are very excited to present such a strong line-up of interested partners, all leaders within their fields," said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. "We are leveraging innovation and collaboration to address the climate crisis." 

Polestar is also reaching out to others to help it meet its climate goals.

Polestar has extended its invitation to other suppliers, researchers, universities, entrepreneurs, investors, as well as government non-governmental organizations, for possible collaboration. 

Polestar said it will also be reaching out to researchers from across the globe through the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which is the world's largest academic network. The SDSN works closely with United Nations agencies to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement through education, research, policy analysis, and global cooperation. 

"We believe in the exponential development of climate solution technologies. For this project, we must tap into solutions that are still in the innovation stage, said Hans Pehrson, leader of the Polestar 0 Project and former Head of R&D at Polestar. "Wherever we look in the world we see materials like steel, aluminum, electronics and rubber. Imagine when we can make these materials climate-neutral to produce."

The climate neutral goals are part of Polestar's "Project 0", which was announced in 2021. The goal of this industry-leading initiative is to create a truly climate-neutral car by 2030 by eliminating emissions from the supply chain and changing the way that cars are made, rather than just planting trees to offset CO2 emissions. 

"As an electric car maker, we don't have to worry about combustion engines producing toxic emissions, but that doesn't mean our job is done," said Polestar's Head of Sustainability, Fredrika Klarén, when Project 0 was announced in April 2021. "Now we must focus all our efforts on cutting emissions in the supply chain and in the production of our cars." 

Polestar's decision to commit to this climate neutral target is because the transportation sector is the fastest-growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector, expected to reach a share of more than 30% of total GHG emissions in the future, according to the United Nation's Environment Program. 

Interested parties wanting to work with Polestar in achieving its goal are encouraged to contact the company by March 23. Polestar set up a website where interested parties can apply to participate.

In addition to producing a carbon neutral car by 2030, Polestar aims to be climate neutral across all of its operations by 2040. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.