Polestar is one of the most famous examples of a car manufacturer that stuck out its chin by setting the goal of building a completely climate-neutral car. The goal within Project Polestar 0 was first set for the year 2030, but this year it was moved forward five years to 2035. The car manufacturer also set out the goal of becoming a completely climate-neutral company by 2040.
To get there, Polestar wants to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the entire operation and from the car's entire life cycle â from supply chain and production to energy use while driving. Since 2024, climate research has also been conducted at Mission 0 House in Gothenburg, where industry and academia collaborate to reduce emissions from materials, products and processes.
At the same time, the electric car company has faced financial challenges for a long time, and in the autumn it was surrounded by rumors of bankruptcy. Something they themselves denied.
Already in 2021, Volkswagen announced that the company had developed a car that it defined as climate-neutral to manufacture: the ID.3.
But Volkswagen's definition of climate neutrality only applied until the car was handed over to the customer. Emissions during the use of the car were therefore not included. The emissions from battery manufacturing that could not be avoided were climate compensated in addition by planting trees.
At the same time, the German car manufacturer has set a broader goal for the entire company: to become climate neutral throughout the chain, from suppliers and production to use and recycling. The way there goes under the "Way to Zero" project. However, the time limit is 2050 and it is a goal that includes many different parts. For example, a sub-goal was to reach climate neutrality by 2027 in terms of data capacity and data centers with lower carbon dioxide emissions â something that will become increasingly important as AI is integrated more and more into the car.
Toyota has set the same deadline for becoming a climate-neutral company, 2050. At least globally. For Europe, an earlier target point has been set: 2035. The Japanese manufacturer also has a different view on the matter. They include carbon-neutral biofuels, e-fuels and hydrogen.
- Carbon dioxide is our enemy, not the technology we use to reduce CO2 emissions. Toyota's path towards carbon neutrality is and has long been what we call a multi-track strategy, i.e. different powertrains and solutions based on the different needs and conditions of people around the world, said Toyota's European manager Matt Harrison in connection with a media event in Brussels last year.
Nissan has also set itself the goal of being carbon dioxide neutral by 2050, both in its own operations and over the entire life cycle of the company's products. As part of that, the company invests, among other things, in developing so-called solid state batteries and in making electric vehicles more efficient.
Volvo has set the target of reaching zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2040, and Mercedes is working on the basis of its "Ambition 2039", which, among other things, means that manufacturing facilities must be powered by renewable energy and have zero carbon dioxide emissions, and that new cars must be carbon dioxide neutral during the vehicle's life cycle.
