BMW aims to use green steel in production of its vehicles from 2025

In an effort to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the source of its supply chain, BMW Group is aiming to procure steel manufactured with up to 95 per cent less greenhouse emission without using fossil resources such as coal by 2025. To achieve this, the automaker has partnered with Swedish startup H2 Green Steel which uses hydrogen and only green power from renewable energies for steel production.

Steel production is considered as one of the major sources of global carbon dioxide, and the brand's goal is to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel supply chain by about two million tonnes by 2030. Dr Andreas Wendt, a member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network, stated sourcing steel produced using hydrogen and green power can make a vital contribution towards this goal.

In addition to this, the BMW Group and H2 Green Steel have also agreed to create a closed-loop material cycle. The latter will take back sheet metal remnants that are produced during processes such as punching of the doors and will integrate those with new steel rolls and ship them back. By following this, raw materials can be used multiple times resulting in a reduction of CO2 emissions by an average of 50 to 80 per cent as secondary steel requires less energy to produce than the primary one. The company has informed that it is already using between 20 per cent and 100 per cent secondary steel in its vehicles. BMW Group also aims to increase this percentage in the future.

BMW, that recently started the series production of BMW i4 electric vehicle at its Munich factory, also shared that in the next few years it wants to reduce local emissions from transport logistics at the plant. To achieve this, the automaker will increase the use of rail transport and battery-electric trucks.