The famous Four Pipes, the symbol of Volkswagen and Wolfsburg, Germany, are temporarily suspended.
Volkswagen AG Executive Director Herbert Diss recently said that “seven of the ten largest carbon sources in Europe are German coal mills.” Volkswagen Wolfsburg was founded in 1938 by the Nazi regime. Its appearance was restored after the destruction during World War II, and coal-fired power plants, including chimneys, are responsible for powering automobile factories and parts of the city. The factory produces Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan.
Volkswagen will close coal-fired power plants at its Wolfsburg plant to reduce CO2 emissions. In the future, the company plans to replace them with natural gas plants and reduce CO2 emissions in this way by 60%. Reducing carbon emissions is equivalent to 870,000 cars per year. In addition, he announced plans to invest 370 billion euros to withdraw the coal industry in large regions.
“I have already rejected offers from several interested parties who wanted to buy our old coal mills in Wolfsburg and restore them in other countries of the world,” Diss said in an interview.
This is not related to the carbon-neutral Volkswagen AG implementation plan. The company promised zero carbon emissions by 2050. The same goes for replacing the power source at Bentley plants with solar energy, and at the Porsche Tycan plant with biogas cogeneration.
This is not the only green move in the automotive industry in recent years. Ford began working with McDonald’s to study parts and materials from coffee waste, and Volvo decided to exclude plastics from the production process and the daily lives of employees. It is expected that the broader concept of the “carbon path” will be the theme of the industry, rather than a simple “carbon reduction”.