Mercedes EQE and EQS to be built with sustainable aluminium
From summer 2023, the electric models EQE and EQS will be among the first Mercedes-Benz equipped with aluminium with almost 70 per cent CO2 reduction compared with the European average. It will be supplied by the company’s partner Hydro.
According to Mercedes, the tested aluminium has an ecological footprint of 2.8 kilograms of CO2 per kilogram. The carmaker and the aluminium manufacturer concluded a corresponding technology partnership in December 2022. Mercedes-Benz announced that the aluminium, with a CO2 reduction of almost 70 per cent compared to the European average and at least 25 per cent recycled content, passed the validation test for sophisticated structural castings.
Among other things, it is used to make safety-relevant components such as the shock towers for the EQS, EQE, S-Class, E-Class, GLC and C-Class models. In addition, the EQE is equipped with longitudinal members made of low CO2 aluminium. The material will also be used for other parts, such as the support frame for the electric drive train of the upcoming vehicle platform MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture). The first vehicles based on the MMA will be built at the Rastatt plant, and conversion work will begin there this summer. It is not yet known with which electric compact model the new platform will debut.
Hydro will supply the CO2-reduced aluminium, produced by electrolysis from renewable energies to the Mercedes main plant in Untertürkheim. The material makes up about 60 per cent of the total aluminium for this alloy type in the Mettingen foundry and contains a scrap content of at least 25 per cent. In Mettingen, the aforementioned structural components are then cast from the material.
From 2030 onwards, the Stuttgart-based carmaker wants to use aluminium in its vehicles with a carbon footprint decreased by 90 per cent compared with the European average. To achieve that, Mercedes will use CO2-optimised aluminium oxide and reductions of CO2 emissions resulting from the electrolysis process by using green electricity and innovative technologies.
For the aluminium manufacturer Hydro, this is not the only cooperation with an automaker from Stuttgart: Porsche also cooperates with Hydro to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint of aluminium in the automotive supply chain.
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