Photo: Audi
Changes for a sustainable environment come from all sides, and it is already becoming normal to hear talks about climate in the auto industry and see actions taken by the big companies for using earth's resources responsibly.
The Mission:Zero environmental program launched in 2019, is Audi's promise to become a car manufacturer that provides carbon-neutral premium mobility. As part of its ecological transformation, Audi has decided to change the way it supplies components for the production of batteries by adopting an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method. This represents a sustainable logistics concept meant to change the German carmaker’s entire production network.
The whole process revolves around the idea of efficiency. This means that instead of using trucks, Audi will supply battery modules and cells from Hungary to its Brussels plant via rail transport, reducing carbon emissions by around 2,600 tons every year. This game-changing process started in May and it is expected to be complete by the beginning of 2023.
DB Cargo is the company with which Audi has been running CO2-free by rail within Germany since 2017. Currently, the car manufacturer uses for the legs of the route in Austria and Germany the DB Cargo’s service called DBeco plus - whose operating resources are wind, water or solar energy. In Hungary and Belgium, Audi uses DBeco neutral - a product powered by climate certificates, reducing carbon emissions elsewhere.
As Hungary does not have its own rail siding, DB Cargo recently set up a logistics center (LC) at the Gyor site. The battery modules are first picked up from the manufacturer by truck and transported from the Gyor LC more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) by rail to Brussels.
After this inauguration in Brussels, other plants are waiting in line for the new carbon-free transport strategy, until Audi turns completely into a carbon neutral brand. The carmaker has set its target that by 2025, battery modules and cells will be transported exclusively by train, optimizing the entire delivery process.
Today, around 68 percent of Audi vehicles in Europe already leave the plants by rail. Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are two other global automotive manufacturers using rail freight services.
The whole process revolves around the idea of efficiency. This means that instead of using trucks, Audi will supply battery modules and cells from Hungary to its Brussels plant via rail transport, reducing carbon emissions by around 2,600 tons every year. This game-changing process started in May and it is expected to be complete by the beginning of 2023.
DB Cargo is the company with which Audi has been running CO2-free by rail within Germany since 2017. Currently, the car manufacturer uses for the legs of the route in Austria and Germany the DB Cargo’s service called DBeco plus - whose operating resources are wind, water or solar energy. In Hungary and Belgium, Audi uses DBeco neutral - a product powered by climate certificates, reducing carbon emissions elsewhere.
As Hungary does not have its own rail siding, DB Cargo recently set up a logistics center (LC) at the Gyor site. The battery modules are first picked up from the manufacturer by truck and transported from the Gyor LC more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) by rail to Brussels.
After this inauguration in Brussels, other plants are waiting in line for the new carbon-free transport strategy, until Audi turns completely into a carbon neutral brand. The carmaker has set its target that by 2025, battery modules and cells will be transported exclusively by train, optimizing the entire delivery process.
Today, around 68 percent of Audi vehicles in Europe already leave the plants by rail. Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are two other global automotive manufacturers using rail freight services.
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