Photo: Polestar
Building anything without carbon emissions is impossible. There will always be some release of it while we are still alive. After all, we have organic bodies. When we talk about carbon zero, it means not to release the carbon stored in fossil fuels. With that adequately clarified, Polestar has committed to producing an EV with no fossil carbon emissions by 2030.
Just to make that clearer, imagine Earth’s carbon content in the atmosphere as a pool. Fossil fuels are like opening water taps on that pool: with more water than it needs, we’ll have a flood.
Carbon dioxide helps maintain the Earth’s temperature in a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The planet managed to balance temperatures by storing carbon underneath the ground. By extracting and burning that carbon for energy, we are increasing the carbon levels in the air. The more carbon in the atmosphere, the hotter the planet gets.
In a nice gesture toward its partners, Polestar recognized it could not do that alone: all suppliers will have to join the effort if the goal is to be accomplished. That means that all components Polestar buys to integrate into this EV will also have to eliminate carbon emissions coming from fossil fuels.
The Swedish automaker already has some partners in what it calls the Polestar 0 Project. SSAB, Hydro, ZF, ZKW, and Autoliv vowed to supply components that respect that principle. SSAB and Hydro will respectively provide steel and aluminum with no carbon emissions coming from oil, coal, or methane.
ZF said it would try to develop an electric powertrain that does not use these fuels in manufacturing, while Autoliv will pursue the same goal with safety equipment (airbags and seatbelts). ZKW’s specialty is wiring, which will present an interesting challenge: developing a plastic material that does not use fossil fuels and also does not attract rats and other animals that love to chew wiring harnesses.
The truth is that Polestar announced the project not to show what these suppliers are already doing. It did so to invite new suppliers to provide what Polestar still can’t get from its other suppliers. The Swedish automaker certainly contacted all of them to share its ideas about the project, and some must have answered that they could not help. Tires will probably become a conundrum to be free of fossil fuels and still affordable parts.
In the end, the final cost is the root of the challenge. Manufacturing a car without fossil carbon emissions must be technically possible yet very hard to sell at a profit. Anyone with ideas to get there should contact Polestar until March 23, 2022, to join the project. If they manage to accomplish it, the entire planet should benefit from their effort.
Carbon dioxide helps maintain the Earth’s temperature in a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The planet managed to balance temperatures by storing carbon underneath the ground. By extracting and burning that carbon for energy, we are increasing the carbon levels in the air. The more carbon in the atmosphere, the hotter the planet gets.
In a nice gesture toward its partners, Polestar recognized it could not do that alone: all suppliers will have to join the effort if the goal is to be accomplished. That means that all components Polestar buys to integrate into this EV will also have to eliminate carbon emissions coming from fossil fuels.
The Swedish automaker already has some partners in what it calls the Polestar 0 Project. SSAB, Hydro, ZF, ZKW, and Autoliv vowed to supply components that respect that principle. SSAB and Hydro will respectively provide steel and aluminum with no carbon emissions coming from oil, coal, or methane.
ZF said it would try to develop an electric powertrain that does not use these fuels in manufacturing, while Autoliv will pursue the same goal with safety equipment (airbags and seatbelts). ZKW’s specialty is wiring, which will present an interesting challenge: developing a plastic material that does not use fossil fuels and also does not attract rats and other animals that love to chew wiring harnesses.
The truth is that Polestar announced the project not to show what these suppliers are already doing. It did so to invite new suppliers to provide what Polestar still can’t get from its other suppliers. The Swedish automaker certainly contacted all of them to share its ideas about the project, and some must have answered that they could not help. Tires will probably become a conundrum to be free of fossil fuels and still affordable parts.
In the end, the final cost is the root of the challenge. Manufacturing a car without fossil carbon emissions must be technically possible yet very hard to sell at a profit. Anyone with ideas to get there should contact Polestar until March 23, 2022, to join the project. If they manage to accomplish it, the entire planet should benefit from their effort.
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