Swedish based premium electric carmaker Polestar says that its latest electric vehicle (EV), the Polestar 4 “SUV coupe”, has the lowest carbon footprint of all Polestar cars to date – despite its huge battery which also makes it the “fastest” Polestar to date.
Polestar published the first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the Polestar 4 on Wednesday, following the car’s unveiling in April at the Shanghai Auto Show.
The car will be produced at parent company Geely Holdings’ SEA factory in Hangzhou Bay, China – which is powered by a combination of certified hydropower electricity and a rooftop solar system. The Polestar 4’s carbon footprint measures in as low as 19.4 tonnes of CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) at launch.
This compares to the carbon footprint of the Polestar 2, which itself has been lowered in recent years from 26.1tC02e in 2021, to 24.4tC02e in 2022 and 23.1tC02e in 2023.
In addition to the green electricity powering production, the Polestar 4 also uses a higher amount of low-carbon aluminium supplied by smelters who also use hydropower to power their operations.
The Polestar 4 will be available in three variants, each of which has its own production carbon footprint. The Polestar 4 Standard range Single motor, with an 86kWh battery, boasts the lowest carbon footprint of 19.4tCO2e.
The Long range Single motor Polestar 4 has a carbon footprint of 19.9tCO2e, while the Long range Dual motor has a carbon footprint of 21.4tCO2e. Both the long range variants feature 100 kWh batteries.
The carbon makeup of each car consists of between 23-24% aluminium, 20% for steel and iron, while the battery modules account for the highest share of the carbon footprint of materials production and refining at between 36-40%.
The total cradle-to-grave life cycle carbon footprint varies, depending on the electricity mix used to recharge the Polestar 4 during its assumed life, which is 200,000kms.
“To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars,” said Fredrika Klarén, head of sustainability at Polestar.
“Throughout the product development of Polestar 4, its carbon budget has influenced everything from material choices to factory energy sources. Sharing the LCA enables us to show that we can strive for net zero – one tonne of CO2e at a time.”
Polestar Australia revealed in August that the first local deliveries of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 can be expected in mid- to late-2024.
“The (new) range is coming next year, so Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 are slated for arrival,” said Laurissa Mirabelli, Polestar Australia’s head of public relations and communications. “For Polestar 3 it would be late Q2 and Q3 for Polester 4.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.