Mercedes-Benz has presented its sustainable business strategy for motorsport in an online press conference on the Mercedes me media portal today. The strategic plan for
Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities is driven by innovation, efficiency and new technologies – and includes major commitments to significantly reduce carbon emissions of the Mercedes-Benz works teams in Formula 1 and Formula E.
Consequently, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team will cut its CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2022 compared to the baseline set in 2018. The Mercedes works team has already taken important steps to reduce its emissions for the upcoming season through the transition to renewably sourced energy at its factories. The team will offset unavoidable CO2 emissions through gold-standard carbon offsetting, leading to a net-zero carbon footprint for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team from 2020, including its development facilities in both Brackley and Brixworth, UK.
Mercedes-Benz is not only taking responsibility for driving sustainable change in its own team. As an active participant in F1, the three-pointed star is advocating ambitious steps towards carbon neutrality throughout the sport. Mercedes-Benz has taken a leading role in the FIA working group for sustainable fuels and is pushing to increase the level of renewable fuels as well as the percentage of electric power in the F1 hybrid power units in future regulations.
Accelerating change through Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities
“We take a holistic approach to sustainability at Daimler – we take responsibility for the economic, ecological and social effects of our business activities,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “It’s our ambition to lead the way to carbon neutral and sustainable mobility. F1 is one of the toughest technical competitions in the world and success can only be achieved by pushing technological boundaries every day. Our F1 team will achieve a net-zero carbon footprint in 2020 and we actively encourage F1 to take more ambitious steps towards CO2 neutrality for the entire sport and to race towards a sustainable future. With the direction announced today, we want to make sure that Formula 1 and Formula E enhance their positive impact for our brand going forward.”
Mercedes-Benz is the only automotive brand that competes in both Formula 1 and Formula E and benefits from this unique positioning. Motorsport plays an important role for Mercedes-Benz as a high-speed development laboratory for cutting-edge technologies and processes for both race cars and road cars.
Formula 1 is widely regarded as one of the toughest and most competitive technological battlegrounds in the world and the Mercedes F1 Team’s success is founded on pioneering spirit, technological prowess and the latest digital tools. Teams at the F1 and FE technology centres in Brackley and Brixworth in the UK work hand in hand with the global R&D laboratories of Mercedes-Benz on a multitude of collaborative projects ranging from drivetrain development and ride and handling to the digital development process and aerodynamics.
Formula 1 introduced cutting-edge hybrid engines in 2014, incorporating an electric turbocharger and powerful brake energy recovery system, which aligned the technological journey of the sport with that of the automotive industry. In its first year, the Mercedes-Benz F1 Power Unit achieved a thermal efficiency of 44 percent; today, the hybrid engine runs at a thermal efficiency of more than 50 percent, making it one of the most efficient internal combustion engines ever built. Mercedes-Benz engineers around the world use the knowledge and technology gained from the F1 Power Unit development to enhance road car engines, for example by further developing combustion processes from the F1 engine so that they can be used in highly efficient drivetrains in production cars.
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: Daimler
