Mercedes

Dan Carney | Jul 06, 2023

Efforts to reduce the carbon emissions from car manufacturing are multi-pronged, and a significant component of that effort is a move to green steel made using low-carbon processes. In the process of manufacturing an electric vehicle, steel accounts for as much as 20 percent of the total CO₂ emissions in its production, according to Mercedes-Benz.

As part of Mercedes’ ambitious climate protection goal “Ambition 2039” the company aims to at least halve the average CO₂ emissions per passenger car in the new vehicle fleet in 2023 compared to 2020. This accounts for CO₂ across the entire life cycle from raw material procurement, to use, and recycling. Additionally, it is the company’s goal to achieve a net carbon-neutral new car fleet by 2039.

“To make the automotive industry more sustainable, Mercedes-Benz and its partners are working to decarbonize the steel supply chain,” said Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement & Supplier Quality at Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The increased availability of green steel enables us to gradually introduce CO₂ reduced steel, and in a second step, to use almost CO₂-free steel in our vehicles, significantly helping to lower our carbon footprint."

Conventional primary steel production using blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces generates more than two tons of CO₂ from the production of every ton of steel, on average. Direct reduction processes in an electric arc furnace (EAF) significantly reduce CO₂ emissions compared to coke-based blast furnace production.

Applying a natural-gas-based direct reduction process, carbon monoxide and hydrogen dissolve the oxygen from the iron ore. In the electric arc furnace, the direct-reduced iron is melted directly into steel together with steel scrap.

These techniques help reduce direct CO₂ emissions from the steelmaking process, while green sources of electricity to power the electric arc furnace during direct reduction manufacturing can reduce emissions to make nearly CO₂-free steel.

To achieve these goals, Mercedes has inked multiple steel supply deals that will combine to help the company achieve its goal of 200,000 tons of green steel by 2030:

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