What Germany’s Mercedes did not say at its Sustainability Dialogue event in Stuttgart about its “Ambition 2039” goal to be CO₂-neutral across all stages of the value chain and the entire life cycle of its new vehicles by the end of the next decade is perhaps more interesting than what it did.
“The electrification of vehicles is playing a key role [in reaching this CO2 neutrality],” the firm says. “Other important levers include the use of recycled materials, the deployment of renewable energies in production processes and the inclusion of renewable energy sources for charging the vehicles.”
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Electrification could, of course, include hydrogen FCEVs, even if EV inFocus thinks it is highly unlikely that H2 will play any material role in Mercedes’ future vehicle mix, beyond potentially in its largest trucks. But electrification does not include e-fuels derived for hydrogen.
Thus, Mercedes is putting clear water between itself and legacy OEM peers who dream that somehow sufficiently abundant and cheap clean hydrogen could be produced to allow its conversion into fuels that would keep their ICE manufacturing on life support. This clarity on avoiding the e-fuels cul-de-sac is to be welcomed.
The firm also hails its newly opened battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim, where it can recover 96pc of battery materials. And it says that the lithium, nickel and cobalt recovered is of sufficient quality to be used in new batteries for future Mercedes BEVs.
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