Rivian reduces carbon footprint of R1 Gen 2 EVs
Rivian reduced the carbon footprint of its R1 Gen 2 vehicles by 15%. It recently released its carbon footprint reports and shared its progress in improving production and logistics.
According to Rivian’s report, the company reduced its carbon footprint by 15% between the production of the R1 Launch Edition and R1 Gen 2 vehicles.
Rivian’s carbon footprint measurements consider the entire life cycle of the product, from the materials and supply to production and logistics. The carbon footprint measurements also consider a Rivian vehicle’s charging and service requirements along with decommissioning.
Based on Rivian’s data, materials, supply chain, charging, and service contribute heavily to a Gen 2 R1T or R1S vehicle’s carbon footprint. In contrast, onsite production, logistics, and decommissioning contribute very little to a Rivian vehicle’s carbon footprint.
Materials and Supply Chain
In terms of materials and supply chain, Rivian was able to reduce its carbon footprint from steel and aluminum in R1 vehicles by 20%. Rivian increased the amount of recycled content to reduce its carbon footprint in the materials and supply chain category.
It also carefully tracks the amount of recycled materials it uses to produce its Gen 2 R1T and R1S EVs. In its reports, Rivian discussed the significance of carefully creating its Bill of Materials (BOM).
“The Bill of Materials (BoM) provides information on the masses and material compositions of the parts and assemblies that make up a vehicle. The first iteration of a BoM for a Rivian vehicle is extracted automatically from our product lifecycle management (PLM) systems.
“A key step in the script involves categorizing the thousands of materials in our PLM systems into several dozen distinct material types, such as polypropylenes, polyamides, hot-rolled steel, and many others. This first investigation of our BoM, while a step in the right direction, requires further material specification, as it leaves portions of the vehicle with unassigned materials,” noted Rivian.
We published our updated carbon footprint reports for Gen 2 R1T and R1S, demonstrating a 15% reduction in carbon footprint and real progress towards halving that number by 2030. Read more ⬇️https://t.co/Hw8uCy49f4
— Rivian (@Rivian) September 24, 2024
Onsite Production and Logistics
Rivian was able to lower its carbon footprint from onsite production and logistics by 45% between 2022 and 2023. The company was able to generate about 2 million kWh of on-site renewable energy at Normal, Illinois, helping to reduce its carbon footprint. It also increased throughput in its production, thereby lowering its energy overhead per vehicle. Rivian also focused on improving the efficiency of its logistics network.
“Rivian’s priority will always be to first minimize the amount of energy that we need to make and operate our vehicles. But even the leanest processes and most efficient vehicles need electricity, so we need to find ways to reduce the resulting GHG emissions. Rivian’s approach to this is a renewable energy procurement strategy, and our current efforts in this space are specific to the US grid wherein most of our vehicles are currently used,” said Rivian.
Charging
Rivian states that its Gen 2 R1T and R1S vehicles use less energy compared to their Gen 1 counterparts. The company designed new and improved motors so Gen 2 uses less energy. The motors are engineered and manufactured in-house.
The second-generation R1T and R1S vehicles also have an HVAC system with increased energy efficiency for both in-cabin use and battery conditioning, which helped reduce energy consumption. Another factor that helps lower energy usage in Gen 2 Rivian vehicles is lower energy loads from low-voltage electronics.
Rivian is acutely aware of the electricity grid’s contribution to its cars' carbon footprint. The company uses data from Sphera’s MLC database at the national level and/or eGrid sub-region for grid carbon intensity factors to estimate the expected carbon footprint of its vehicles while they are on the road.
“Rivian believes it is important to use our best understanding of how the electricity grid will change for the base cases for our vehicles. But we also acknowledge that forecasting the GHG emissions from electricity is inherently uncertain. Every vehicle carbon footprint includes scenario analyses that test how different projections and grid mixes affect the carbon footprint of the vehicle,” the company noted.
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