The main reason it took Torslanda longer than Skovde is because of its paint shop.
Head of global production operations Geert Bruyneel told Automotive News Europe that the energy demand from Torslanda’s paint shop, despite a recent upgrade, is more than three times that of the most demanding job at Skovde, which is the machining process for the engine.
He said that the paint shop also requires a lot of biogas to heat the boilers and ovens used during the process.
Bruyneel said that was another tough obstacle he faced during the years it took to make Torslanda climate neutral was altering the mindset of people.
“In the beginning the biggest challenge was convincing everyone that this was the right thing to do, even if the rest of world and our competitors maybe did not do the same,” he said. “In the end, we said, “No, this is the right thing to do for the company and for our future.”
Addressing Torslanda’s CO2 impact was a big step for Volvo, which aims to have a climate neutral global manufacturing network by 2025.
Bruyneel said Volvo will first focus on making its factories in Europe — including its plant in Ghent, Belgium — climate neutral, followed by its U.S. manufacturing site in South Carolina and concluding with its three vehicle assembly plants in China.
