Volvo Cars continues to be a green, sustainability leader. Safety and environmental credentials have long been strong suits of the Volvo brand, and that continues today.
News out of Sweden today is that Volvo Cars is getting “high-quality, recycled and near zero-emissions steel” starting this year, 2025, from SSAB. Furthermore, it is the first automaker to sign such a deal for mass-produced cars (or “serial produced deliveries” as they put it).
As with seatbelts and its 100% electric fleet target, Volvo Cars was intent on being at the forefront of sustainable steel use in cars.
Also, on the flip side, Volvo Cars is selling steel for reuse. “In addition to buying recycled and near zero-emission steel, Volvo Cars progresses towards its circular ambitions by also selling scrap steel, helping Volvo Cars to keep materials at the highest value for the longest period of time in a closed loop system.”
“One of the biggest sources of CO₂ emissions in our production process is the steel we use to build our cars, averaging 25 percent of all material-related emissions for a new Volvo car,” says Francesca Gamboni, chief supply chain and manufacturing officer at Volvo Cars. “We work towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, and cutting steel-related emissions really has the potential to move the needle.”
It sure sounds like it!
More broadly, Volvo Cars aims to reduce the average CO2 emissions of its cars by 65–75% by 2030, compared to a 2018 baseline. It was a little more ambitious previously in that it aimed for 100% electric car sales by 2030, but this is still one of the most ambitious targets in the industry. The company also aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
“The agreement with SSAB is an example of this. It also supports Volvo Cars’ circularity ambitions, with the aim to use an average of 30 per cent recycled content across the fleet by 2030, and for new car models released from 2030 to contain at least 35 per cent recycled or bio-based content,” Volvo Cars adds.
The recycled steel will initially be used in the coming Volvo EX60 SUV, a fully electric model, and it will be used in future next-generation SPA3 car architecture.
“Crucially, this recycled steel meets the same safety-related requirements as for primary steel in terms of strength and durability.
“SSAB’s closed loop system recycles scrap steel, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions and keeping materials and natural resources in use for longer. Compared with traditionally produced steel in Europe, SSAB’s recycled steel generates almost 100 per cent less CO₂ emissions in own operations and is made with a recycled content of almost 100 percent.”
This is great news. And it really needs to become the norm in the industry. Let’s hope other automakers jump in and follow this leadership move from Volvo. In the meantime, it’s another reason to buy a Volvo instead of a car — even an electric one — from another brand.
I assume the reason this isn’t already the norm is a matter of cost and supply. Presumably, though, as demand and supply scale up, recycled steel will become cheaper than virgin steel. Right?
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