A tonne lighter: new Polestar 2 sustainability upgrades

We’re on a learning journey, constantly searching for new ways to improve our cars. We’re also determined to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility, which is why these upgrades have a greater purpose: to help us reach climate neutrality by 2040. This end goal is essential, and maintaining momentum while moving in that direction is equally important.

Starting this month, the primary aluminium in the 19-inch rims, the most popular rim option for Polestar 2, will come from smelters using hydropower. Smelting aluminium is an energy-intensive process, which is why this change alone reduces the carbon footprint by as much as 488 kg CO2e per car. This is in addition to the 750 kg CO2e reduction made earlier this year for the battery casing’s aluminium tray, which was also thanks to smelters running on renewable energy.

“We know from our LCA reports that aluminium comprises a large share of the carbon footprint of our cars. Therefore, by targeting the larger aluminium components, we can reduce that footprint significantly with some relatively small changes,” says Lisa Bolin, Polestar Climate Lead. “We have promised our customers to be transparent about our environmental impact, but also to be transparent on how we shall improve. This is us delivering on that promise.”

The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy throughout the whole production chain is key to keeping down carbon emissions. Polestar continuously works to help and support partners and suppliers in this work, and we aim to lead by example. Since earlier this year, the Polestar 2 manufacturing plant has been running on 100% solar power, resulting in a 544 kg CO2e reduction per car.

“We must have a close dialogue and collaboration with our partners and suppliers to help each other reach our targets. These actions signal to them and our customers in which direction we are moving as a company,” Bolin explains. “Our goal of being a climate-neutral company by 2040 doesn’t mean that we can continue as before up until 2039 and suddenly change everything overnight. We must continuously improve, one step at a time, until we reach zero, to keep the cumulative emissions as low as possible,” she continues.

Compared with last year’s model, we have with all these steps reduced the CO2e by 1.7 tonnes per car. That equals more than a 6 % reduction year-over-year, and that number will only increase. But more on that later.

Each step on the journey towards climate neutrality makes a difference. Some, a literal tonne of it. While much work is still left to be done, we’re in a great position to keep up the pace. Like in a marathon, we need to focus on each step, putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving forward and never stop. And each step in the right direction is a step worth acknowledging.