The BMW Landshut light metal foundry uses solar-powered aluminium in addition to recycling waste metal that is recovered during the casting process. As per reports, the Landshut light metal foundry has been recertified by the impartial party for its sustainable use of aluminium, meeting the requirements of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), an international non-profit organisation backed by aluminium producers and processing businesses.
The auditing criteria demand conformity with requirements for transparency, general management, corporate integrity, and proof of material stewardship, such as a thorough lifecycle analysis of the company's goods and a complete recycling strategy. In December 2019, the first certification that met the criteria for material stewardship was successfully completed.
"Sustainable extraction of raw materials and conscious use of resources play a key role for our in-house component production and our global supplier network. Sourcing aluminum produced using solar power for our in-house component production lowers our CO2 emissions significantly. The circular economy is also key to reducing emissions and conserving natural resources. Going forward, the aim is to build our new vehicles with 50 percent secondary raw materials," said Dr Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.
Because of the use of inorganic sand cores and a casting process that produces almost no emissions, BMW claims the light metal foundry is one of the world's most technologically sophisticated and environmentally friendly. In 2021, the foundry started acquiring aluminium made using solar energy. According to reports, this aluminium will satisfy a third of the plant's yearly needs.
Around two-thirds of the recycled aluminium used at the facility originates from the foundry itself as production scrap metal recovered from the foundry process accounts for the other one-third of the aluminium produced there. This helps BMW to decrease the usage of more CO2-intensive primary aluminium.
In 2022, the Landshut facility produced 3.3 million cast components with a combined weight of more than 73,000 tonnes, including cylinder heads, crankcases, massive structural components for vehicle bodywork, and electric drive trains. By 2024, all BMW and MINI products will use green energy aluminium wheels, the BMW Group said in 2022.
The BMW Group has a long history of using aluminium responsibly. The light metal foundry collaborated with regional processors to develop a recycling loop for post-production waste metal recovered from the foundry process for more than 10 years. Clean separation of aluminium residues is the deciding element in this situation.
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