The BMW Group is committed to using more sustainably produced aluminum wheels from 2024. It is the Mini brand that will inaugurate this transition to a production largely made of recycled aluminum next year.
From 2024, the BMW Group will use cast aluminum wheels produced from 100% green energy for its BMW and Mini models. The use of recycled materials avoids electrolysis, a very energy-intensive electrolysis used for the production of primary aluminum. For the German group, this is another step towards its goal of enabling the cleanest and most sustainable supply chain possible.
This includes melting down old wheels as part of the circular economy. It is therefore no longer necessary to resort to energy-intensive electrolysis to produce the necessary raw material, which is recycled here.
A reduction of 500,000 tons of CO2 per year
It is Mini that will introduce the use of these 70% secondary aluminum cast aluminum wheels in the next generation Countryman from 2023.
Each year, the group buys about 10 million alloy wheels. Since 2021, BMW has been sourced aluminum from the United Arab Emirates, which is made exclusively with electricity generated by solar energy. The use of recycled aluminum should enable BMW to reduce its CO2 emissions by about 500,000 tons per year.
Today, the production of wheels is responsible for about 5% of the CO2 emissions of the supply chain. This transition should make it possible to halve these emissions. BMW’s ultimate goal is to reduce emissions across its entire supply chain by approximately 20% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
(ETX Daily Up)