Italian supercar maker Lamborghini has revealed its concept EV car Lanzador, which captures and symbolizes its sustainability and carbon emission reduction efforts as part of its “Direzione Cor Tauri” roadmap.

Lamborghini debuted Lanzador at the Monterey Car Week, marking a significant step towards its decarbonization and electrification plans. It is the super sports car brand’s first EV offering, featuring a high ground-clearance GT with 2+2 seats. 

Lamborghini’s Sustainability and Carbon Reduction Efforts

Sustainability goes beyond just a buzzword these days and has penetrated all parts of the economy, particularly mobility. Though sports car users have considered electric vehicles unnecessary, supercar manufacturers have joined the global race to net zero emissions. 

They have to because of the pressure both from regulators and investors. Lamborghini is the latest to take on the challenge and drive along the road to decarbonization. Under its Cor Tauri strategy launched in 2021, the sports carmaker aims to decarbonize through the following phases:

Celebrating internal combustion engine (2021-2022)
Transitioning to hybrid (by the end of 2024)
Going first full electric (second half of the decade)

The Latin term Cor Tauri means “heart of the Bull” and refers to the brightest star of the constellation of Taurus. It shows the direction Lamborghini is taking towards an electrified future, while remaining faithful to the brand’s heart and soul.

The Italian luxury carmaker has been channeling its efforts on reducing its carbon emissions for years. Lamborghini’s production site in Sant’Agata Bolognese has been certified as carbon-neutral since 2015. Emissions generated in this site are responsible for about 90% of the company’s total carbon emissions included in its inventory.

The following table shows Lamborghini’s greenhouse gas or carbon emissions for the past three years. 

There’s a slight increase in the carmaker’s Scope 1 and 3 emissions, which was compensated by a decline in Scope 2 emissions (electricity use). Scope 1 represents the majority of emissions – 60%, followed by Scope 2 with 33%.

Overall, total emissions increased by over 2% (>400 tCO2) but emission intensity (emissions/vehicle produced) dropped to 2.7 tCO2. That’s an improvement in reductions by over 15% compared to previous year’s intensity. 

The company aims to reduce its product carbon emissions by 50% by 2025 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050 for its entire value chain. It has been implementing internal carbon reduction measures while offsetting unavoidable emissions through carbon credits. 

Internal efforts in cutting emissions also resulted in about 44% decrease in 2022 relative to 2014 baseline. 

Lamborghini offsets its electricity consumption emissions by purchasing Green Certificates – certifying that energy is from renewable sources. While the remaining emissions are offset by buying carbon credits – each credit representing one tonne of carbon reduction or removal. 

These credits are certified and recorded in the Eco2care VER (Verified Emissions Reduction) Registry, managed by CE.Si.S.P. Since 2020, Lamborghini has purchased over 35,600 tCO2 used to offset its emissions. 

Now, for its next major decarbonization step, the supercar maker unveiled its first EV concept Lanzador. 

Lamborghini’s First EV Concept: Lanzador

The new concept car is part of Lamborghini’s broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions for a more sustainable future. It offers a sneak peek into the carmaker’s future EVs. Remarking on this great milestone, the automaker’s CEO and Chairman, Stephan Winkelmann, said that: 

“With this concept, we are ushering in a new car segment, the Ultra GT, which is poised to offer customers a new and unparalleled driving experience, one that’s quintessentially Lamborghini, thanks to groundbreaking technologies.”

The Lanzador embodies its maker’s sustainability efforts, both in its exterior and interior design, performance, and software. 

It uses 2 electric motors, one for each axle to ensure permanent all-wheel drive in all conditions and driving styles. Using battery packs instead of burning oil without affecting performance and range is a big plus for the luxury carmaker’s carbon cutting initiatives. 

Equipped with all-active control systems, the driver can actively modify the car’s behavior while on the road. Users can personalize their driving profile to best express and suit their driving needs. All thanks to Lamborghini’s “Vision of Smart Aerodynamics” future philosophy, delivering driver requests and range requirements. 

Additionally, almost all materials used for the concept car’s interior are sustainable. The use of sustainably sourced leather, 100% renewable wool, and regenerated carbon testifies the automaker’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact without giving up Lamborghini’s brand signature – comfort and luxury.

The plastic materials from recycled fibers used in the seats are 80% more eco-friendly than new plastic made of petroleum. This and the futuristic design of the sports car showcases Lamborghini’s “Feel like a pilot” approach.

Source: Lamborghini

The Brighter Road Ahead

Winkelmann also said that their electrification plan is a big part of their goal to reduce their environmental impact. With that, Lamborghini seeks to electrify its entire product range by the end of 2024.

The sports car maker invests almost 2 billion euros over 4 years to transition to hybrid technology. This is, by far, the largest investment in the history of the Italian luxury brand. 

The production of Lanzador, Lamborghini’s concept for the fourth model, isn’t a whim of engineers and designers. It is a proof of a concrete electrification plan of the super sports carmaker that it expects to bring to production in 2028.

Though it’s a huge change in Lamborghini’s 6 decades of tradition, it will keep the brand’s DNA while demonstrating where the company is heading – towards a brighter future with EVs. 

The Italian brand is not alone in this quest. Its long-standing supercar rival Ferrari has also committed to electrification, whose all-electric GT is rumored to have 4 electric motors and will debut in 2025. Ferrari is, in fact, establishing a factory to build electric motors, inverters, and batteries for its hybrids and EVs.

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These days, with the importance of furthering the fight against climate change, more and more different options are being explored. Making the transition to clean renewable energy is one of the centerpieces of our net zero future, and one of these potential sources is hydrogen energy.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that from here out to 2050, hydrogen energy will play a small but noticeable role. It accounts for 6% of the cumulative emission reductions needed to hit our net zero targets by mid-century.

But what is hydrogen energy, exactly? And what does it do that other sources of clean energy can’t do right now?

Let’s start with the fundamentals of hydrogen energy: how does it work?

Hydrogen Fuel: The Basics

The first thing to know about hydrogen energy is that hydrogen is a fuel.

What that means is that like other fuels, such as coal or natural gas, we can burn it to create energy.

However, when burned in a fuel cell, the only emission from hydrogen energy is water.

Unlike fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gasses, hydrogen fuel can burn 100% clean – or mostly clean, depending on how it’s done.

In a hydrogen fuel cell EV or FCEV, hydrogen is burned with pure oxygen in specially made cells to create water.

However, there’s also a type of hydrogen vehicle called the hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle, or HICEV.

HICEVs are actually very similar to our current, commonly used gas-powered vehicles. Indeed, many HICEV prototypes have simply been modified versions of previously existing vehicles, as shown below:

HICEVs burn hydrogen fuel with air in order to generate energy. Since there’s no carbon in the fuel, no carbon dioxide is emitted in the process.

However, since air contains nitrogen, the byproducts from burning hydrogen in an HICEV include nitrogen oxide (NOx) alongside water. And while NOx isn’t a greenhouse gas, it’s an air pollutant that contributes to smog.

And while traditional gas-powered vehicles produce significantly greater amounts of NOx, the fact that HICEVs produce some as well means that they’re not true zero-emissions vehicles – even if this can be mitigated with catalytic converters much like in a regular car.

Even with that taken into consideration, however, both FCEVs and HICEVs produce zero carbon emissions, which are the main focus of our net zero transition.

As a result, hydrogen is being considered for use in vehicles as a replacement for traditional gas-powered internal combustion engines, alongside electric vehicles (EVs).

Why Hydrogen Fuel?

Now, you’re probably thinking – EVs are everywhere, and chances are pretty good that your local dealership has several on their showroom floor, whether they’re plug-in hybrids or fully electric battery EVs.

But if you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard of hydrogen-powered cars. Much less be able to drive one off a lot yourself (unless you happen to live in China, Japan, South Korea, or Germany).

Haven’t EVs already established themselves as the dominant replacement option for gas-powered cars? What could hydrogen bring to the table that EVs can’t offer?

Here are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of FCEVs and HICEVs (referred to as H2-ICEs in this table) vs. traditional EVs, as well as a fourth option: biogas/synthetic fuel:

As you can see, regular EVs and FCEVs share many of the same advantages and disadvantages. But HICEVs are slightly more advantageous on a couple of measures as a trade-off for not being 100% emissions-free vehicles.

One thing not mentioned in the table above is that hydrogen vehicles generally have the same range as their traditional gas-powered counterparts. In contrast, battery EV owners must shell out the big bucks if they want their vehicle to have a range competitive with that of a regular car.

These longer-range EV batteries would weigh more, in turn causing the vehicles to use more energy. Hydrogen fuel’s energy density is significantly higher than that of batteries. As such, a hydrogen vehicle of equivalent range would weigh much less than the battery EV equivalent.

A longer-range battery EV also directly translates to a longer charging time. In contrast, refilling a hydrogen vehicle is essentially identical to how you fill up your car at a gas station.

In summary, hydrogen vehicles, and HICEVs in particular, offer a number of competitive advantages over battery EVs. But they do have their own disadvantages too. Hydrogen fuel is more difficult to store than electricity, for instance.

The main barrier to mass adoption for both EVs and hydrogen vehicles is that they require extensive build-out of refueling infrastructure. But EVs do have an advantage in this regard as many battery EV owners can recharge their vehicles at home, even if the process is slow.

That’s why battery EVs are winning – at least for now.

How Do We Get Hydrogen Fuel?

That battery EVs can be charged at home is perhaps the biggest advantage battery EVs have over hydrogen vehicles right now. Electricity is all around us and part of our daily lives. Hydrogen fuel, however, would require production and distribution facilities just like how gas stations need to get their gas from refineries and bulk storage terminals.

Unlike oil, however, hydrogen doesn’t naturally form in large quantities on Earth. There aren’t any hydrogen formations we can drill down into to start producing from. Instead, hydrogen fuel needs to be produced through manmade processes.

There are two main methods of hydrogen production: from natural gas, and from water.

The former is known as blue hydrogen. This type of production usually combines methane from natural gas with high-temperature, high-pressure steam to form hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This process is known as steam methane reformation.

Currently, this is how the world gets most of its hydrogen. However, since methane contains carbon, inevitably we end up with carbon emissions. That would mean we need some method of capturing and storing the carbon emissions to make this hydrogen a clean energy.

However, hydrogen can also be produced from the electrolysis of water, which is known as green hydrogen.

It’s rather aptly named, as the process uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, thus creating zero harmful emissions – it’s as green as it gets.

Now obviously, between the two it’s clear that green hydrogen is the preferred method of production.

The problem, unfortunately, is that green hydrogen is the newer tech of the two. It still needs to solve a major issue before it can take over blue hydrogen’s role as the world’s primary source of hydrogen.

Producing green hydrogen is extremely power-intensive, even much more expensive than blue hydrogen – a bit over 3x. That’s why lowering the cost of green hydrogen is one of the main focuses in the hydrogen industry right now.

In fact, back in June 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy launched its “Hydrogen Shot” program. It aims to reduce the cost of green hydrogen by 80% by the end of the decade.

The U.S. DOE’s “1 1 1” Hydrogen Shot initiative

This puts the cost of green hydrogen production at $1 per kilogram, which would be below even blue hydrogen’s average cost of around $1.50 per kilogram.

Of course, this is an ambitious goal, and it’s uncertain if getting to $1/kg by 2030 is feasible. But any advancements in green hydrogen tech will significantly benefit the adoption of hydrogen energy as a whole. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of work going on in this field.

Hydrogen and Carbon Credits

While it’s still early days for the hydrogen energy industry, there are already clear use cases – and clear synergies.

Carbon credits are one of those synergies that perfectly go hand-in-hand with hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen fuel is primarily being advocated for use in vehicles. So, you can look at the electric vehicle industry to see how things work out.

Major EV maker Tesla, for instance, has generated around a billion and a half dollars each year since 2020 from carbon credits resulting from the sales of their vehicles.

It seems logical, then, to expect that hydrogen fuel vehicle makers would benefit the same way as battery EV companies.

On top of this, green hydrogen production would be another potential avenue for carbon credits.

Hydrogen is actually used in many industrial processes, including making fertilizers, refining oil, and manufacturing steel:

The world uses a lot of hydrogen – 95 million tonnes of it in 2022. That’s why there’s a significant case for clean hydrogen production, even before bringing hydrogen vehicles into the picture.

As development continues on transitioning hydrogen consumption towards net zero, whether through the addition of carbon capture and sequestration to blue hydrogen production or further technological advances in green hydrogen production, you can be sure that carbon credits will have a role to play.

The Future of Hydrogen in a Net Zero World

Right now, the hydrogen energy sector is still in its nascent early stages of growth.

Cheap, clean hydrogen production remains one of the primary obstacles the industry must contend with before hydrogen energy can really start seeing widespread adoption.

Luckily, hydrogen is highly in demand in a number of other industries as well. So there’s plenty of incentive behind cleaning up blue hydrogen or lowering the cost of green hydrogen.

In fact, Mckinsey & Company estimated that the total hydrogen production capacity announced by companies by 2030 increased by over 40% to 38 metric tons per annum. This capacity is about half the volume necessary to be on track to net zero (75 Mt p.a.).

Total announced direct investments in hydrogen also grew from $240 billion to a whopping $320 billion to date.

Source: McKinsey & Company Hydrogen Insights

Back in 2021, Swedish steelmaker SSAB built a pilot plant to produce the world’s first fossil fuel-free steel. The facility is using green hydrogen in place of coking coal in the iron ore reduction process.

The company is still in the process of transitioning its steel production. They expect to be able to go fossil-free on most of their steel production by 2030. BUT they’ll need more hydrogen to do it.

Hydrogen vehicles also have competition in the form of battery EVs. They also face the same challenges of requiring the extensive build-out of a distribution and refueling network.

But when it comes to vehicles, there’s one niche hydrogen fuel has where battery EVs have a harder time competing. That niche is heavy industry and long-distance transport. The superior energy density of hydrogen fuel makes it a more attractive solution for this segment.

For instance, trucks that need to drive very long distances with heavy loads and intermittent access to charging – such as many truck routes through the interior of North America – would find hydrogen fuel a perfect fit for their needs.

Some vehicle manufacturers are even hedging their bets by making hybrid hydrogen fuel battery vehicles. They’re much like plug-in hybrid EVs except with hydrogen fuel instead of gas.

Of course, hydrogen refueling infrastructure is still sorely lacking and lagging behind battery charging infrastructure. Unless you live in one of a few countries that made hydrogen energy a central part of their energy transition:

Still, hydrogen fuel will have a major role to play in the coming decades. Currently, hydrogen accounts for around 1.6% of global final energy consumption. The bulk of it is used for refining and industrial purposes as detailed previously.

The IEA’s net zero forecast calls for hydrogen usage to grow sixfold by 2050 to account for 10% of total final energy consumption, all supplied from low-carbon sources. 

As of last year, over 30 countries have developed, or started to prepare, national hydrogen strategies, joining France, Japan, and South Korea – the first three countries to do so.

It may still be early, but you can expect lots of development and advancements in the hydrogen energy field in the years to come as governments and corporations alike further work hydrogen into their clean energy transition plans.

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America’s largest private company and world’s largest agricultural shipping firm, Cargill, has made its maiden voyage using special sails powered partly by the wind. The goal is to study how wind power can help reduce energy use and carbon emissions of cargo ship and the entire sector.

Cargill is hauling 225 million tons of dry bulk cargo around the world each year on over six hundred vessels. One of these cargo ships is retrofitted with WindWings sails designed to cut fuel use, and thus, shipping’s carbon emissions. 

Harnessing Wind Power to Decarbonize Shipping

The maritime industry currently accounts for almost 3% of global carbon emissions largely because of its reliance on carbon-intensive bunkers. And over 80% of the global merchandise trade by volume is shipped by sea. 

According to the International Maritime Organization, the industry is producing over 830 million tonnes of carbon each year. That’s equal to spewing as much CO2 as 283 coal-fired power plants do in a year. 

The industry faces pressure from environmentalists and investors to accelerate decarbonization. As such, major players have been exploring some ways to shift away from dirtier fuels to cleaner power sources. And Cargill finds renewable wind power a promising option to explore. 

One of the commodity giant’s chartered massive cargo ships, 80,000-ton Pyxis Ocean just sailed from China to Brazil using two gigantic sails called WindWings. The ship is owned by Mitsubishi Corporation’s shipping arm while creating the revolutionary sails is also funded by the European Union. 

The pioneering wind-powered carrier is the world’s first to be retrofitted with two 37.5 meters or 123-foot high sails. When the vessel is in port, the wings, made from the same material as wind turbines, fold down and open out when in open water. 

The enormous wings can reduce the ship’s fuel consumption by about ⅕, according to its designer BAR Technologies. This maiden sail is an opportunity for Cargill to see if returning to the traditional way of moving ships would be the way forward for transporting goods at sea.

If the test becomes a success, the charterer will install WindWings to ten more ships. After all, “wind is there for free”, as Cargill’s ocean transportation president Jan Dieleman says. He further added that there’s no silver bullet to decarbonize the industry but believes that wind-assisted propulsion technology can help. 

Wind-Powered Sails Are Making a Comeback 

Sailing through the wind has been the way of moving things and people until powerful fossil fuel-powered ships took over. Now, wind-powered shipping is making a comeback, though not that fast.

Pyxis Ocean joins a tiny fleet of only 2 dozen large commercial ships run by some form of wind-assisted propulsion. For more than 110,000 new-build order vessels, only below 100 feature wind-assisted technology currently. 

But if more ship owners, operators, and charterers choose to also use renewable energy to fuel their fleet, it can make a huge difference in cleaning up the dirty shipping industry. 

For America’s largest private firm by revenue, the groundbreaking technology can help reduce emissions and decarbonize bulk cargo by 30%. The company also claimed that installing WindWings is possible for both existing cargo ships and new constructions. 

According to Yara Marine Technologies, the company that produced the sails, giant crude carriers can install up to six WindWings. That means more fuel and carbon emission savings. 

If the vessel is powered by a clean fuel (e.g. green methanol), the sails can drive down costs. If the cargo ship is burning fossil fuels, wind power can reduce carbon emissions. 

Here’s the estimated fuel savings of installing WindWing as per BAR Technologies:

1 WindWing sail can save 1.5 tons of oil-derived fuel per day on an average route
2 WindWing sails like the Pyxis Ocean can save 1,095 tons a year (20% of what a Kamsarmax vessel consumes each year)
Installing 3 WindWing sails on Kamsarmax ship can save about 30 tons on fuel

Saving 1 ton of marine fossil fuel use is equivalent to reducing about 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. 

These savings on CO2 emissions is critical as the global shipping industry has to meet its ambitious targets. And same with the rest of the industries, it has to reach net zero emissions by 2050. 

Other parts of the sector have been using innovative technologies on their ship to help cut down carbon emissions. 

In June, a Norwegian cruise line made headlines by sailing the world’s most energy-efficient and first zero emission cruise ship. It’s also harnessing the power of the wind, plus the sun with its solar panel-covered retractable sails. Other efforts focus on ammonia and hydrogen for clean shipping. 

While wind-assisted propulsion technology won’t make a huge impact right now in cleaning up the sector, it’s gaining some traction. BAR Technologies and Yara Marine have another project to install WindWing sails on a different vessel. 

Cargill’s groundbreaking move is to help their partners in the maritime industry transition to a more sustainable future. As Dieleman remarked, 

“We’re always used to going the shortest way… Now, you might want to go the way where there’s more wind.”

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Google has joined a Shell-backed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program intended to scale up SAF as part of its stride to be carbon neutral throughout entire operations by 2030.  

The SAF program called Avelia was launched last year by Shell and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). It allows airlines to sell SAF and corresponding carbon credits to business customers. 

The world’s most popular search engine is the latest multinational corporation to sign up for the SAF and carbon credit program. 

Reducing Aviation’s Carbon Emissions with SAF

Aviation is one of the sectors that finds it challenging to reduce its carbon footprint and reach net zero emissions. And business travel is a critical customer segment for airlines as it generates 40% of their revenues. It also represents about 15% of global air travel, as per Amex GBT president Andrew Crawley.

Crawley further noted that having Google onboard their SAF program shows how corporate collaboration can help make travel more sustainable. It can also help ramp up the aviation industry’s transition to net zero.

Why Avelia?

Shell and Amex GBT launched the Avelia program with the goal to provide companies with access to SAF and use it to reduce their business travel emissions. The paid premium price will also ramp up the demand for emerging low-carbon biofuels like SAF. 

Avelia is the first blockchain-powered SAF “book and claim” tool built together by Shell Aviation, Accenture, and Energy Web Foundation. The initiative aims to offer 1 million gallons of SAF credits to buyers, equivalent to powering about 15,000 corporate travels from London to New York.

As Shell Aviation puts it, 

“Avelia aims to jumpstart the SAF market by enabling business travelers and airlines to share the benefits of SAF while each receiving respective credit for the associated carbon emission reductions.”

SAF is made from renewable and sustainable resources that can be combined with fossil-based jet fuel to slash emissions. As a ‘drop-in’ fuel, airlines can use SAF without the need for modification and it’s currently in use. 

Experts consider SAF as one of the most promising solutions to accelerate the sector’s transition to a low-carbon future.

Source: Amex GBT website

Joining the Avelia program enables Google to receive the credits for the amount of carbon emissions their purchased SAF reduces. Each credit represents a tonne of reduced carbon emissions. 

Google’s Flight Toward A Green Future

For years, Google has been investing in low-carbon initiatives that can help reduce global carbon emissions. From its eco-friendly routing to the green cloud, the tech giant commits to reaching carbon neutrality across its entire value chain. 

This recent move brings Google’s commitment to aviation. It’s joining other major companies that commit to decarbonize the sector such as insurance firm Aon and Bank of America. Major airlines are also onboard the program, including JetBlue, Delta, Japan Airlines, and Cathay Pacific, among many others. 

The tech major believes that SAF plays an important role in driving down aviation’s carbon emissions. Google’s climate and energy director said that signing up in Shell and Amex GBT’s SAF program “represents Google’s continued efforts to accelerate the global transition to a carbon-free future”.

Just like how the tech company leverages its eco-friendly Map feature, Google is also partnering with key industry players to help pilots pick flight paths with the lowest emissions. 

This is in line with its latest research initiative with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy. They aim to harness the power of AI data mapping to tackle the impact of aircraft contrails on the climate. This can further help reduce airlines’ carbon footprint, alongside the use of SAF.

Why Promote SAF?

Compared to conventional jet fuel, SAF can cut a plane’s flight emissions by up to 80%. That’s because it can be made from renewable sources like crops, animal fats, waste oils, municipal waste, and captured carbon.

However, sustainable fuel comprises less than 0.1% of global aviation fuel available right now. Plus, it costs more than conventional jet fuels, about 2x to 8x higher. 

Thus, some are doubtful if there would be enough input to satisfy the growing demand for SAF and if its cost can be cut down to make it affordable for the airlines to use.

Despite these concerns, Amex GBT believes that SAF is critical in decarbonizing aviation, accounting for 90% of business travel emissions. This figure highlights the crucial need for corporations to address their air travel carbon footprint. 

Amex GBT has over 19,000 corporate clients globally and Shell Aviation has major airlines as customers. Combining their client base in forming Avelia, together they think that the program can help reduce costs and increase demand to scale SAF. Google’s signup helps them send a significant investment signal to the market. 

There are also important milestones happening in the sector that contribute to ramping up SAF and top-up demand. 

In April, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Meta, Boston Consulting Group, and other major firms agreed to buy SAF credits. They join together as members of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) aimed to boost demand for biofuel.

Also, earlier this year, United Airlines launched a $100 million investment vehicle for SAF. Last month, a climate tech startup Twelve revolutionized SAF production in the US by breaking ground in its commercial facility that turns captured carbon into biofuel.

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