Mercedes-Benz will use green steel in vehicles in 2025. The premium car company will be the first to take an equity stake in Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel to introduce CO2 free steel into series production.
The three-pointed star logo brand is already working with its steel suppliers in order to prevent and reduce CO2 emissions rather than find a compensation solution. Therefore CO2 neutrality is target that Mercedes-Benz is pursuing as part of Ambition 2039. Therefore, its goal is to achieve a fully connected and CO2 neutral vehicle fleet in 2039. This would be 11 years ahead of the EU established regulations.
Mercedes-Benz builds a sedan using steel as far as 50% of its materials. This accounts 30% of the CO2 emissions in production. Therefore the objective of the premium car maker is a great challenge.
The Germans resort to an innovative manufacturing process. First, the production of steel at the supplier level is CO2 free. This is lightyears away from the steel production that uses a classic blast furnace. In this case, there would be an average of more than two tons of CO2 per ton. The new procedure involves the use of hydrogen and electricity form 100% renewable energy sources, instead of coking coal. The use of hydrogen produces only water.
Mercedes-Benz, on a journey of sustainable green steel supply chain
All of the steel suppliers of Mercedes-Benz are part of the journey that has the reduction of CO2 emissions as a destination. The Stuttgart-based premium car company is part of the Responsible Steel Initiative and actively involved in the development of a certifiable sustainability standard for the steel industry.
The target is to achieve environmentally friendly and socially acceptable green steel production within the entire value chain.
The suppliers that represent over 85% of Mercedes-Benz’s annual purchase volume have already signed an Ambition Letter. They thus agree to supply the company only with CO2 neutral products.
