Yamaha has announced that it has reached an agreement with an aluminum ingot supplier to procure green aluminum to be used to produce certain motorcycle parts. The so-called green aluminum is gonna be used in motorcycles offered in the Japanese market first, but there’s a plan to gradually expand to other markets as well.
The “green aluminum” is not something that is produced by plants, but is rather an aluminum that is refined using renewable energy sources in order to cut down emissions. The aluminum refined this way is claimed to emit around 60% less CO2 compared with traditionally refined aluminum. Of course, the percentage of less emission by renewable energy differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, but you get the idea.
Aluminum parts account for 12% to 31% of the total vehicle weight of a motorcycle, so adopting green aluminum is one effective approach for reducing CO₂ emissions from the raw material manufacturing part of a product’s life cycle, the company says.
Parts such as the wheels, under-bracket, swingarm, main frame, and rear sub-frame could be produced with green aluminum. Yamaha also claims that it is already using recycled aluminum—which now comprises ~80% of the company’s aluminum usage. The introduction of green aluminum is gonna complement this and will be used for parts that cannot be produced with recycled materials.
The first application of green aluminum is gonna be large displacement motorcycles and off-road motorcycles. The company is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality throughout all of its business activities—including its entire supply chain—by 2050.
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