Yamaha Motor has reached an agreement with an aluminum ingot supplier to purchase green aluminum and start using it as a raw material for parts in Yamaha motorcycles in February 2023.
According to Yamaha, it is the first time that green aluminum is used in Japanese motorcycles. Yamaha Motor says it plans to gradually expand its use in future models.
“Green aluminum” is aluminum that is refined using renewable energy sources to produce approximately 60% less CO2 emissions during manufacture compared to traditionally refined aluminum.
The percentage reduction in emissions from renewable energy naturally depends on the manufacturer. According to Yamaha, aluminum parts account for 12% to 31% of a motorcycle’s total vehicle weight, so using green aluminum is an effective way to reduce COâ‚‚ emissions from raw material production during a product’s lifecycle (covered in scope 3 Category 1 emissions for supply chains).
Through the development of its engineering and manufacturing technologies and expertise, Yamaha Motor has actively promoted the use of recycled aluminum, which now accounts for approximately 80% of Yamaha Motor’s aluminum use. That percentage is based on the amount of raw material used in Yamaha factories in Japan and overseas in 2022.
This introduction of green aluminum is intended to complement this and will be applied to parts that still cannot be made with recycled materials.
As a first step, Yamaha Motor will use green aluminum for certain components in its large-displacement and off-road competition bikes, and Yamaha Motor plans to expand the number of models that will use the material in the future, subject to stock availability.
In line with the Yamaha Motor Group’s 2050 Environmental Plan, the company aims to achieve carbon neutrality in all its business activities, including the entire supply chain, by 2050. To achieve this, Yamaha Motor has set itself the goal of switching to 100% sustainable materials by 2050.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.