(Credit: Volvo)With a heightened focus on the electrification of its products, Volvo was active in taking steps in a transition to a net neutral transportation system in 2021, including accelerated production and investments in electric cars, trucks and buses as well as fuel cell and European public charging projects.
While the automaker says in its 2021 sustainability report that electric vehicles and other machinery is still a small part of its overall portfolio, it continues to make advancements in the industry.
Volvo started selling heavy-duty electric trucks in Europe last year and plans to start delivering them by the end of 2022, and continued production of medium-duty electric trucks for urban areas and waste management. The company also presented its first vehicle made of green steel.
Joint ventures for fuel cells and charging stations also were significant projects by Volvo in 2021.
The company partnered with Daimler Truck and Traton Group by investing $562.3 million with a goal of establishing at least 1,700 charging points for trucks and buses in Europe. Another project with Daimler Truck called cellcentric plans to develop hydrogen and fuel cell systems, and Volvo says it will begin testing fuel cell trucks by 2024.
Volvo also was involved in projects to develop autonomous vehicles as well as a collaboration with battery manufacturer Samsung SDI.
Volvo says the growth of its electric fleet production has been spurred by growing interest from customers, cities and transportation companies that want to decarbonize their operations. The continued growth of electrification, Volvo says, will depend on access and costs of batteries, renewable energy, charging infrastructure and incentive programs.
The company says it will continue to work in these areas and plans to have 35% of its vehicle sales be electric by 2030 and it plans at least 100 transport and infrastructure platforms by 2025.
Volvo was especially active in electric truck production last year, as the heavy-duty commercial vehicle market is expected to surpass $370 billion by 2030. In October Volvo made what it said was its largest order of commercial electric trucks when European shipping company DFDS purchased 100 of the vehicles. At the end of 2021, DFDS made another order for 25 heavy-duty electric trucks.
Volvo also delivered two battery-electric Class 8 trucks to grocery retailer Albertsons.
Additionally, the company said it would build cars with fossil fuel-free steel made by hydrogen by 2026. Another project in the United States with Redwood Materials, where Ford is the only other automaker involved, aims to increase electric vehicle battery recycling.
Volvo is a part of the Science Based Targets initiative and has a goal of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% through 2030 and Scope 3 emissions by up to 40% depending on the product. In 2021 on a baseline from 2019, Volvo reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions across its operations by 3% and Scope 3 dropped as much as 5% in its offerings but saw rises in buses and construction equipment.
The company also is involved in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, with efforts in improving energy efficiency, efficiency in production and sustainable transport, among other work.
Volvo says part of its plans in the efficiency areas include using more recycled materials, recover heat and recycle waste. It also wants to extend the life of its products and increase circular manufacturing.
