By Victoria Klesty
OSLO, April 26 (Reuters) - Norsk Hydro will
supply Porsche AG with low-carbon aluminium and
eventually recycle its battery materials as the luxury carmaker
moves to decarbonise its supply chain, the companies said on
Wednesday.
Makers of electric cars are looking to replace steel with
aluminium to make car bodies and batteries lighter to increase
mileage.
Hydro signed a similar deal late last year with German car
maker Mercedes-Benz for a range of models from 2023, including
its electric EQ models.
Porsche, which aims for a net carbon-neutral value chain by
2030, already buys aluminium and components from Hydro and will
start buying low-carbon aluminium from the Norwegian company
this year. Previously part of Volkswagen AG , Porsche
became an independent company via a stock market listing last
year.
The Hydro deal means the footprint of the aluminium,
marketed under the REDUXA brand and made at Norwegian smelters
which run on electricity from renewable sources, will be cut by
about 3.5 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram aluminium used.
This is about 60% lower than the average primary aluminium
consumed in Europe currently, the companies said.
Porsche Taycan, the brand's first fully electric sports car,
already consists of about 30% aluminium in terms of weight.
Hydro targets a gradually diminishing carbon footprint on
these deliveries and aims to reach zero by 2030 "for parts of
the deliveries," a spokesperson told Reuters.
The firms also plan to jointly investigate how to recycle
battery materials in Europe, aiming to establish an efficient
closed loop solution for Porsche's EV batteries.
"Access to sustainably sourced raw materials is a key
challenge for the automotive industry," Barbara Frenkel,
Executive Board Member for Procurement at Porsche said in a
statement.
The European supply chain for electric vehicle battery
minerals, such as lithium, is still under development.
(Editing by Gwladys Fouche;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Messaging: victoria.klesty.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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