A moon-shot project: creating the first truly climate-neutral car by 2030. Polestar and PaperShell are joining forces towards their most ambitious goal so far: the aim isn’t offsetting emissions — it’s eliminating them. Challenge accepted.
Climate action is about collaboration
The Polestar 0 project consists of developing solutions that don’t currently exist and embracing the challenge of finding new technologies: that’s where PaperShell steps in. True carbon-neutrality requires all actors to rethink how their cars are made, and that means targeting the whole supply chain from raw material extraction, material manufacture, product manufacture and end of life.
“PaperShell was born to decouple society away from unsustainable fossil based materials. We team up with companies and organisations that share this natural ambition. Polestar has set a tangible goal. Zero by 2030!”
Anders Breitholtz, Co-Founder and CEO of PaperShell
Changing the way cars are made
The transport sector is the fastest-growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector, expected to reach a share of more than 30% of total GHG emissions in the future*. This requires immediate action on radically decarbonising the automotive industry by focusing on real emissions avoidance rather than compensation and scaling up circular solutions developed by leading industry actors.
Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, comments: “The real potential of electric cars will be fulfilled when we as an industry can say goodbye to not just tailpipe emissions, but also production-related emissions.”
*The United Nation’s Environment Programme states that the transport sector is the fastest-growing greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector, expected to reach a share of more than 30% of total GHG emissions in the future.
“A project of this ambition requires partners at the cutting-edge of their industries and which are fully engaged in our bold vision. That’s why I’m looking forward to Papershell becoming a crucial part of our team as we find solutions for developing an entirely climate-neutral supply chain. Papershell’s expertise in advanced paper-based fiber composite will be invaluable in our mission and will play an integral role in pioneering new and innovative technologies to achieve what has so far been impossible.”
Hans Pehrson, leader of the Polestar 0 Project
A Culture of Purpose
PaperShell is committed to enable the quest for a collective future by replacing components with a completely bio-based alternative. A positive change is made by tapping into solutions that replace what can be measured and controlled, and by scaling up completely circular alternatives.
In a joint effort with PaperShell to identify and eliminate all carbon dioxide sources in the entire supply chain, Polestar’s industry-leading initiative is a bold commitment on working in completely new ways towards not only a climate-neutral car industry, but also society.
About the Polestar 0 project
The Polestar 0 project is Polestar’s moon-shot goal of creating the first truly climate-neutral car by 2030 which was announced in the company’s first annual review, published in April 2021. The scope of the project is to identify and eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction of raw materials to when the car is delivered to the customer, as well as the end-of-life handling. The Polestar 0 project aims to cut carbon emissions by changing the way that cars are made, rather than using traditional processes and then planting trees to offset CO2e. This approach will encompass collaboration across the entire development process and value chain, from suppliers to retailers. The project targets what Polestar can measure and control: zero carbon emissions in the production of the car, delivery to customer, and end-of-life. The use phase of an electric car can already today be close to climate neutral if the car is charged with renewable energy. The timeline for launching a car in 2030 means the advanced research needs to be completed by 2025, when work with the car’s architecture begins. By 2027, the vehicle project starts, which means that the application of that research, the advanced engineering required to take a research project into industrial production, needs to be completed.