Polestar 4 scores lowest CO2 footprint

POLESTAR has pulled a low emissions rabbit out of the hat revealing this week in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that the incoming Polestar 4 has the lowest carbon impact of all Polestar vehicles to date, as low as 19.4 tonnes of CO2e, model dependent. 

The Sino-Swedish automaker has a policy to publish all LCAs and will continue to do so as it fully engages with the tenets of blockchain manufacturing, the circular economy and stringent emissions targets.

A combination of hydro and solar power is used to make the Polestar 4 at a Geely Holdings’ SEA factory in Hangzhou Bay, China, which the company says combines “green” electricity that carries the I-REC hydro power certificate, with photovoltaic electricity from the roof of the plant. 

Further aiding the LCA result is the use of low-carbon aluminium from smelters using hydropower electricity that helps reduce the climate impact further. Aluminium production is an electricity intensive process that consumes gigawatts of electric power during industrial production of the alloy.

In addition, data regarding the share of recycled aluminium has been included in the assessment for the first time… the circular economy and blockchain at work.

Though not yet available Down Under, the Polestar 4 Standard range Single motor variant, initially only available in China, leads the LCA with a carbon footprint of 19.4 tCO2e. The Long range Single motor version has a carbon footprint of 19.9 tCO2e, while the Long range Dual motor has one of 21.4 tCO2e. 

As expected, battery modules account for the highest share of the carbon footprint of materials production and refining at 36-40 per cent while aluminium comes in second at 23-24 per cent of the carbon footprint, with steel and iron accounting for 20 per cent.

Head of sustainability at Polestar, Fredrika Klarén, says of the LCA ratings: “To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars. 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 publishes full details of the carbon footprint of all its models the EV-maker believing the auto industry should be a driving force in the shift to sustainable mobility, and that transparency is a key enabler.

Polestar’s LCAs that have been in the public domain since 2020, consider a range of factors in a car’s life cycle, from supply to manufacture and recycling, and summarise the climate impact in one easily understood number.

The company says it enables consumers to make informed decisions when buying a car adding that the LCA figures stated here disclose the cars’ cradle-to-gate carbon footprint which includes material acquisition through the production of the product and excludes the use and end-of-life stages.

The Polestar 4 is another SUV from the electric automaker that has just gone on the market in China this month with European, North American and Asia pacific availability in 2024.

Billed as an electric performance coupe-SUV, the 4 will sit between the Polestar 2 sedan/hatch and the larger Polestar 3 SUV on price and size and utilises the company’s dedicated new Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) ‘roller skate’ BEV platform.

The Polestar 4 is a D-segment coupe-SUV with a large body and 2999mm wheelbase. Overall length is 4839mm, width is 2139mm and height is 1544mm.

Key design elements have been derived from the Polestar Precept concept car including eliminating the rear window which enables a new kind of ‘immersive’ rear occupant experience, and the separation of the dual blade front lights with a unique Polestar light signature – complemented by the Polestar emblem with highlight lighting from below.

The Polestar 4 is the fastest production car from the brand to date capable of clocking a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.8 seconds thanks in part to a maximum power output of 400kW. Motors used are a permanent magnet, synchronous design.