Volvo Cars’ Taizhou manufacturing plant has taken a significant step towards enhancing environmental sustainability by transitioning to biogas, positioning it as the company’s inaugural plant in China to attain climate-neutral status. Volvo reports that this shift from natural gas is anticipated to result in an annual reduction of over 7,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
“While the Taizhou plant’s emissions represent a small fraction of Volvo Cars’ overall emissions totaling 43 million tons (Scope 1-3), securing climate-neutral energy for the Taizhou plant is an important step towards the goal of having climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025 and reducing emissions across global operations,” said Javier Varela, Volvo Cars’ chief operating officer and deputy CEO. He added, “This ambition is also part of a broader aim to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.”
Before the transition, the Taizhou plant was already utilizing climate-neutral electricity. Varela highlighted, “The Taizhou plant already used climate-neutral electricity, and this latest move ensures that it also has climate-neutral heating.” He emphasized, “It’s Volvo’s second car plant globally to become climate-neutral after the Torslanda facility in Gothenburg, Sweden.”
The energy supply at the Taizhou plant encompasses both electricity and heating. Varela noted, “Taizhou plant’s energy supply comprises electricity and heating. It produces around 40% of its electricity need from on-site solar panels—a share that is set to expand in the coming years.” He further explained, “The remaining 60%, which comes from the grid, is also climate-neutral electricity from solar. Its heating need is, with this latest switch, met by using climate-neutral biogas.”
Volvo Cars recently expanded its sustainability strategy with new ambitious goals for the coming years. Varela stated, “The new aim to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 builds on a previous ambition of being climate neutral by 2040.” He added, “The company is also encouraging suppliers to do the same.”
