Volvo Claims Its First Climate-Neutral Plant in China

Volvo claims its first climate-neutral production plant in China thanks to a switch from natural gas to biogas energy supply for heating.

Its Taizhou manufacturing plant is now cutting its annual CO2 emissions by more than 7,000 metric tons, says the automaker. It sees this change of energy use as a small step toward its ambition to achieve climate-neutral manufacturing operations at the plant by 2025 before reaching global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

The Taizhou plant is the automaker’s second car plant globally to become climate-neutral after its Torslanda facility in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Taizhou’s energy supply comprises electricity and heating. It produces about 40% of its electricity needs from on-site solar panels and Volvo says this is set to expand in the coming years. The remaining 60% from the grid is also climate-neutral electricity from solar.

Javier Varela, chief operating officer and deputy CEO at Volvo Cars, says: “We’re acting fast when viable climate-neutral energy alternatives become available. The switch to biogas at our Taizhou plant demonstrates how each of our manufacturing locations across the globe is developing its own climate-neutral energy mix, based on what’s available in the region.”