In 4 years, Polestar has cut CO2 emissions from the production of electric cars by 25 percent. However, production is not completely emission-free.
Polestar has achieved a reduction in CO2 emissions from the brand's factories, including the production of its electric cars. New figures show a significant reduction of almost 25 percent.
The reduction has occurred over the past four years, according to the car brand's new sustainability report . The progress is due to several factors.
Polestar is increasingly using renewable electricity in production. The use of aluminum with a lower climate impact also plays a role. It is part of the effort.
In addition, battery production processes have been improved. The transportation of batteries has also become more efficient. This contributes overall to the lower CO2 footprint.
The result is that Polestar's current electric cars emit less CO2 during production. Emissions now range between 21.3 and 24.9 tons of carbon dioxide per car, depending on the model.
Electric car CO2 emissions compared to petrol and diesel cars
However, it is still more than a comparable car with an internal combustion engine. A gasoline car has a lower CO2 footprint from the production phase itself. This is shown by previous studies.
For example, a report on a petrol-powered Volvo XC40 showed that it emitted around 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide during production. So there is a difference in the starting point.
The biggest difference in production emissions comes from the battery. The production of an electric car battery emits approximately five tons of CO2 equivalents. This is a significant part of the total production emissions for an electric car.
However, the electric car starts to catch up with the higher starting emissions when it is driving. Over the life of the car, the math changes. Polestar has carried out a life cycle analysis to show this.
The analysis covers a driving distance of 200,000 kilometers. A Polestar electric car emits a total of around 50 tons of CO2 equivalents over that distance. This figure assumes charging with electricity from a global average energy mix.
Electric car lifespan measured in emissions
If the electric car is charged exclusively with renewable energy such as wind power, the total emissions will decrease. In this scenario, the total emissions will be approximately 27 tons of CO2 equivalents. This shows the importance of green electricity for electric cars.
In comparison, the figures look different for the petrol car. The petrol-powered Volvo XC40 emits around 58 tonnes of CO2 over the same 200,000 kilometres. The electric car therefore has the potential to be the cleanest emission over its entire lifespan.
Polestar's CEO, Michael Lohscheller, comments on the development, highlighting the company's approach to growth and sustainability.
"Polestar shows that it is possible to increase growth without increasing your climate impact," says Michael Lohscheller.
– In short, our ambition is to continue to reduce our emissions while increasing sales.
– At a time when developments in the world are going in the wrong direction in many respects, we stand by our commitments and step up our sustainability work.
– When others follow the flow, Polestar goes its own way, says the director.
Polestar's former owner Volvo has previously shown how negligible the difference in CO2 emissions is between electric cars and petrol cars. Read more about it here .
