Volvo partnered with China’s CATL to replace old electric car batteries with new ones. The goal is to further reduce electric vehicles’ carbon footprint by recycling critical battery materials. Last month, Volvo discontinued the production of diesel cars to reduce their carbon footprint.
As electric car sales continue to increase, many batteries will eventually be discarded, and Volvo believes it has a solution. Volvo and CATL are collaborating to recycle old and discarded electric car batteries.
Volvo’s supplier plans to dismantle the batteries to use more than 90% of the critical materials, such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium. CATL plans to use these materials to make new electric car batteries to power new cars.
Volvo and CATL signed a long-term contract 2019 to supply batteries for Volvo and Polestar electric car models.
In 2023, Volvo sold over 113,000 battery-electric cars, a 70% increase from the previous year, accounting for 16% of total sales. This year, they expect further growth with the full-scale launch of the EX30, an affordable model starting at $34,950 in the US and €36,590 in Europe.
In March, Volvo sold 18,021 electric cars, accounting for 23% of the battery-electric car market share.
Volvo’s EX30 has the smallest carbon footprint among battery-electric cars to date. According to a life cycle assessment (LCA), it emits approximately 60% less carbon than the XC40 ICE (gasoline) per 200,000km, with a total carbon footprint of 23 tons.
Volvo aims to have electric cars account for 50% of total sales by the end of next year as it moves towards a purely electric future by 2030. They aim to reduce average vehicle CO2 emissions by 75%. In their 2023 annual report, Volvo announced that they had reduced average CO2 emissions by 20% compared to 2018.
Hyundai Motor Group forms a strategic partnership with Toray Industries, which manufactures carbon fiber and composite materials.
On April 18, 2024, Hyundai Motor announced that it had formed a strategic partnership with Toray Industries, a leader in carbon fiber and composite material technology. Toray, a global leader in carbon fiber, produces advanced materials that are lightweight, strong, and heat-resistant, suitable for use in various fields such as automotive and aviation.
Toray is working with Joby Aviation in the U.S. to use carbon fiber in its upcoming electric air taxi. It also contracted with Lilium, a German aerospace company, to use carbon fiber composites in its electric five-seater jet.
Hyundai aims to become a first mover with new materials to gain a competitive advantage. Through this strategic partnership, Hyundai plans to strengthen its position as a global leader in mobility solutions.
Hyundai plans to use lightweight, high-strength materials to improve the performance of electric car batteries and motors. Their joint R&D includes carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) parts.
Hyundai emphasizes that this new material partnership will play a vital role in the group’s future mobility strategy. These materials will be used to improve the electric cars of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
The Hyundai Motor Group aims to be among the world’s top three electric car manufacturers by 2030. To achieve this, Hyundai is investing approximately $18 billion.
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