Today, Volkswagen AG announced its goal of making its data center operations net carbon-neutral by 2027. To achieve this goal, the Group has expanded its computing capacities at Green Mountain, a Norwegian operator of CO₂-neutral data centers. With this expansion, one quarter of Volkswagen’s global data center operations will run carbon-neutrally. This corresponds to annual CO₂ savings of 10,000 tons.

Accelerating its decarbonization strategy, Volkswagen AG has set itself the ambitious goal to make its data centers net carbon-neutral by 2027. This would be three years earlier than foreseen in the European Green Deal, under which European data center operators agreed to make their data centers climate-neutral by 2030. To achieve this goal, Volkswagen has expanded its data center operations at Green Mountain, a Norwegian operator of CO₂-neutral data centers. All servers at Green Mountain run on 100% renewable electricity generated by hydropower and are cooled naturally by the adjacent fjord.

Hauke Stars, Member of the Board of Management, IT and Digitalization, explained: “Green IT is a key topic on our ESG agenda. While technology is the key driver for more efficiency, an improved customer experience, and new business models, IT accounts for about 3% of global CO₂ emissions,” Hauke Stars, Member of the Board of Management, IT and Digitalization, explained. “Given the rising demand for computing power and data storage to enable Volkswagen Group’s NEW AUTO strategy, a sustainable IT roadmap with ambitious goals is paramount to systematically reduce our carbon footprint. With data centers being the biggest contributor of carbon emissions in IT, expanding our computing capacity at Green Mountain is a strong lever to make our data center operations carbon-neutral by 2027.”

The cooperation with Green Mountain started back in June 2019, when Volkswagen Group opened its data center operations at Green Mountain's RJU1-Rjukan site in Telemark, Norway. The goal was to outsource non time-critical, high-performance computing projects like crash-test simulations to free up capacity in Volkswagen Group’s data centers at the headquarters needed for critical business applications. In total, Volkswagen Group has six data center operations worldwide, three in Wolfsburg, two in Norway, one in Singapore.

With Volkswagen AG’s latest expansion to Green Mountain’s SVG1-Rennesøy data center, one quarter of the Group’s global computing power requirements will run carbon-neutrally. This corresponds to annual CO₂ savings of 10,000 tons. The renewable power used for Volkswagen’s data center operation at Green Mountain would be sufficient to provide 500 households with green electricity for one year.

“We appreciate the renewed trust Volkswagen has placed in us and are pleased to support them on their journey towards full carbon-neutrality,” said Tor Kristian Gyland, CEO of Green Mountain. “Together we share the same vision of a more sustainable future.”

For the new site at SVG1-Rennesøy, Green Mountain converted a former high security NATO ammunition storage facility into a unique 22,600 m² high-security mountain hall colocation data center. The infrastructure has been designed to be expanded up to 2 x 26MW, with Volkswagen using 3MW of capacity. For the cooling, which in traditional data centers accounts for an 40% to 80% of the electricity required to power the servers, SVG1-Rennesøy takes advantage of the adjacent deep-water fjord reaching 100 meters, with a constant water temperature of 8 degrees Celsius all year round.

In Norway, 98.9 % of the electricity production is renewable, with the majority generated from hydropower. Hydropower has both a minimal carbon footprint as well as marginal ecological impact. The Norwegian government vigorously promotes the utilization of power from renewable energy sources for new branches of industry, for example, in climate-neutral data centers. Tax breaks, low energy prices and stable political conditions make Norway an ideal location for green IT.

Volkswagen AG was the first automaker to commit to the Paris climate agreement back in 2018. By 2050, the company aims to be net CO₂ neutral. In its core business, the Group intends to achieve a 30% CO reduction by 2030. Today, more than 90% of Volkswagen AG’s external power supply for its European manufacturing sites already comes from renewable energies.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

Volkswagen is focusing its development activities for autonomous and highly automated driving. In the area of autonomous driving as a service (MaaS/TaaS), the Group is consolidating its development partnerships. Volkswagen will no longer invest in Argo AI. In individual mobility, Cariad is continuing to drive forward the development of highly automated and autonomous driving together with Bosch and, in the future, in China with Horizon Robotics.

Oliver Blume, CEO Volkswagen AG: "Especially in the development of future technologies, focus and speed count. Our goal is to offer our customers the most powerful functions at the earliest possible time and to set up our development as cost-effectively as possible."

The development of autonomous driving is a core component of the Volkswagen NEW AUTO strategy. Within the Group, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is responsible for implementing this development specifically for the Mobility and Transportation as a Service (MaaS / TaaS) areas, while the technology company Cariad is responsible for developing partially and highly automated driving functions (up to SAE Level 4) for the Group's passenger car brands. Together with development partners, the two companies are continuing to drive forward the development of autonomous driving technologies.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles further expands cooperation

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) is further expanding its cooperation to develop technology for its autonomous driving mobility fleets with a partner. This will be announced shortly. Correspondingly equipped ID. Buzz prototypes are already on the road with this partner in a test program.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' goal for autonomous driving remains: In 2025, customers are expected to be able to use MOIA to book the autonomously driving ID. Buzz in Hamburg in 2025.

Christian Senger, member of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand board of management responsible for MaaS/TaaS and AD (Mobility and Transport as a Service; Autonomous Driving) explains, "In the course of the cooperation with another partner, the collaboration within the group to develop highly automated and autonomous driving will also be strengthened."

Cariad continues to drive development on Level 3 driving functions for passenger car Group brands with partners

Cariad will continue to drive the development of automated driving for individual mobility in the Automated Driving Alliance with Bosch. The companies aim to make partially and highly automated driving suitable for mass use and available to everyone.

The aim is to provide functions for vehicles of the Volkswagen Group's brand groups that allow drivers to explicitly take their hands off the steering wheel at times. These are advanced driver assistance systems, so-called level 2 systems, for city, countryside and highway, in which the driver is comprehensively supported by the vehicle, and a system in which the vehicle takes over the complete driving task on the highway (SAE level 3). The first functions are to be implemented in 2023.

For the Chinese market, Cariad additionally plans to cooperate with Horizon Robotics to drive forward the development of automated driving on a regional basis in one of the world's most important growth markets. In the area of hardware, the Group has also entered into a partnership with Qualcomm for high-performance chips for automated driving.

Continued employment of Argo AI employees

Volkswagen is working with Argo AI to provide continued employment for employees and to further develop the most promising projects in the field of autonomous driving.

All other collaborations with Ford remain unchanged.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

With the inclusion of the EU taxonomy into its new Green Finance Framework (GFF) the Volkswagen Group makes investments in Green Debt Instruments issued by the company more attractive, transparent and reliable for sustainability investors. The GFF links the Group’s decarbonization goals with its financing strategy. Only capital expenditures (capitalized development costs and additions to property plant and equipment) for battery electric vehicles (BEV) that are aligned with the EU taxonomy are taken into account under the new GFF. The investments are audited in connection with the annual report by the Groups independent auditor on a reasonable assurance basis. Investors can thus obtain a high level of transparency and verification for the use of proceeds.

Dr. Arno Antlitz: ”With the new Green Finance Framework we strengthen the position of the Volkswagen Group as an issuer of sustainable finance instruments and our contribution to the sustainable development of our company. To support our increasing investments in electrification we simultaneously aim to increase the share of Green Debt Instruments in our funding mix. In doing so we contribute to the development of the sustainable financing market.”

The Volkswagen Group is continuing its way to focus in its GFF on all electric vehicles only. Capital expenditures in relation to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) or to vehicles with combustion engines are fully excluded. By that, the company continues the way it has started back in March 2020, when the first Green Finance Framework was published. Volkswagen has issued Green Bonds totaling EUR 3.5 billion under the old framework. The new GFF will allow the Volkswagen Group to issue different Green Debt Instruments, including Green Senior Unsecured Bonds, Green Junior Subordinated Bonds, Green Schuldscheindarlehen, and obtain Green Loans.

The Volkswagen Group will report at least once per year on allocation of the net proceeds from debt instruments that are issued on the basis of the GFF as well as on the environmental impact of the BEVs where capital expenditures have been spent in accordance with the GFF. This will be demonstrated via the results from external certified Life Cycle Assessments which analyses the environmental impact of BEVs over their entire life cycle and all stages of the value chain. This includes the extraction of raw materials, the production of materials, the processes at its suppliers and its own production at its sites, the use phase with vehicle emissions and the necessary provision of energy and eventually the recycling of the vehicle at the end of its life cycle.

Sustainalytics as a renowned independent rating institute has given a second party opinion in order to verify compliance with the Green Bond Principles (2021) of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Green Loan Principles (2021) of the Loan Market Association (LMA).

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com

The Volkswagen subsidiary Elli is offering electric vehicle customers of the Group brands more comprehensive service. The wall boxes can now be purchased from the German Audi, SEAT, Cupra, ŠKODA Auto, Volkswagen and Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge dealerships. Through the new sales channel, Elli is continuing its strategy to offer a customer-friendly ecosystem for electric mobility. The new partner for in-store sales of the wall boxes is Volkswagen Original Teile Logistik GmbH & Co. KG (OTLG).

Until now, Elli has sold the wall charging stations exclusively on the Internet. The wall boxes are also available online in Italy, Sweden and Spain. Both the Connect and Pro wall charging stations can now be ordered from the German Audi, SEAT, Cupra and ŠKODA Auto, Volkswagen and Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge dealerships or configured as part of a new car purchase. Depending on what their offer includes, the local sales partner also provides an installation service.

Simon Löffler, CCO of Elli says: “We provide electric vehicle customers in Europe with everything they need to charge their vehicles quickly, conveniently and sustainably. We are now making our offer accessible on an even more individual basis through the dealerships. At the same time, we are reinforcing our local offering. In addition to the electric vehicle, dealerships can now also provide quality charging accessories from one provider.”

The wall box models are compatible with current and future electric vehicles of the Volkswagen brands as well as all cars from other manufacturers with a Type-2 connector. Other common features include a charging capacity of up to 11 kW and an integrated 4.5 or 7.5 metre long charging cable. Both the Connect and Pro charger models connect to the Internet via WiFi, optionally also via LTE, allowing users to also control the wall box when on the move. What’s more, these two models can also be activated via app or charging card for particular users. The starting price for the wall boxes in Germany is 769 euros including VAT – both in the Elli Internet shop and from the dealerships.

About Elli – a Volkswagen Group brand
The Volkswagen Group has made charging and energy part of its core business in its NEW AUTO strategy. Volkswagen is investing like no other car manufacturer in establishing a global open fast charging network. Together with partners, around 45,000 high-power charging points (HPC) are planned by 2025 in Europe, China and the US. The Volkswagen subsidiary Elli is responsible for all activities relating to these topics in Europe. The current range of products also includes the entire spectrum of charging solutions for private customers and companies – from the customers’ own wall box and the flexible quick-charging station to charging services and innovative, smart green-power rates. In the next step, Volkswagen plans to anchor the electric car as a mobile power bank in the energy system and create added value for electric car customers.

About Volkswagen Original Teile Logistik GmbH & Co. KG
Volkswagen OTLG, based in Baunatal, belongs to the Volkswagen Group and provides original parts, accessories and services to the service partners of the Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Seat and Škoda brands in Germany and Denmark. That makes OTLG the after sales backbone of the Volkswagen Groups in Germany and, as a full-range provider, it ensures that millions of customers stay mobile with their vehicles. OTLG employs more than 2,500 people at seven locations in Norderstedt, Cologne, Ludwigsburg, Munich, Dieburg, Ludwigsfelde and Baunatal.

Article source: www.volkswagen-newsroom.com