BMW to Start Using Aluminium Made with Solar Power

Luxury auto maker BMW announced that it has began to source and use aluminium that has been produced using solar energy.

The German carmaker described the move as “an important milestone” in its goal to cut carbon dioxide emissions from its supply network.

The solar power used in the aluminum production process will come from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, south of Dubai. The aluminum will then be processed and turned into car parts at the light metal foundry of BMW’s plant in Landshut, Germany.

A “triple-digit million-euro contract” will have Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), an industrial firm based in the United Arab Emirates, providing BMW with 43,000 metric tons of aluminum in 2021.

BMW said EGA was the first business in the world to utilize solar electricity for commercial aluminium production.

BMW has said that the “solar aluminium” sourced from the UAE will account for almost half of the yearly requirements of the Landshut foundry.

The deal is part of a wider “long-term” strategy to source aluminum produced from renewables, which BMW says could save roughly 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 by the year 2030.

BMW has said: “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,” it said.

“In an electrified vehicle, CO2 emissions from the use phase are much lower, but producing battery cells or aluminium is very energy-intensive,” it added.

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