Porsche Aims for Carbon Neutrality by 2030
Photo: Porsche
Porsche is committed to having a carbon-neutral balance sheet not just across its own operations, but across the entire value chain. The automaker says that in the pursuit of this goal, it will develop its own high-performance batteries and create its own network of ultra-fast chargers.
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Oliver Blume, Porsche CEO, says the company’s German factories in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig are already CO2-neutral thanks to the use of biogas and renewable energies. However, that’s not enough for the sports car manufacturer.
“In the next step, we will also demand this from our suppliers,” Blume said. “Anyone who develops battery cells for us must manufacture them exclusively with sustainable energy. Batteries are still produced in a very energy-intensive way. By obliging our suppliers to use sustainable energy, the carbon footprint will improve significantly”
Porsche is also hard at work on researching batteries that use silicon anodes instead of graphite. This would increase their safe operating temperature, making it possible to create denser batteries with better fast-charging capabilities.
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“The battery cell is the combustion chamber of tomorrow,” Blume added. “Our electrified high-performance sports and racing cars place the highest demands on battery technology. To meet these demands, Porsche needs special high-performance cells.”
The automaker’s batteries would first be used in motorsports and other high-performance applications before being expanded to the rest of its vehicle lineup. And with more and more people buying electric cars, Porsche hopes to meet the concomitant demand for public charging.
At the moment, Porsche is already involved with European charging networks like Ionity, but it plans to develop its own network of ultra-fast chargers to supplement the ones it has already begun installing at its dealerships. And of course, these stations will have lounges and other amenities that Porsche customers expect.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.