SP Member News Roundup – October 2021

SP provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers, their large and small suppliers, the US EPA and other government entities from around the world to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact.

This series collects recent news and updates though October 2021 highlighting efforts of SP member companies and partners to advance initiatives with positive environmental impact.

  • ELMS signs agreement with Cox Automotive. Electric Last Mile Solutions, Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with Cox Automotive Inc. to provide comprehensive service and support solutions for its commercial EV customers nationwide.  Read more.
  • Lithion Recycling and Call2Recycle Partner to Power Electric Vehicle Battery Logistics and Recycling. Lithion Recycling, Inc., and Call2Recycle announced a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on providing a turnkey full-service management solution for safe and efficient recycling of Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries. Read more.
  • Ford Renews $15.5 Billion In Revolving Corporate Credit Lines, Aligning Them With Sustainability Priorities In Ford+ Strategic Plan. Ford announced the extension of $15.5 billion in revolving credit lines, which now include key metrics that further align the company’s financing actions with its commitment to operate a safe, sustainable and successful business – elements that are fundamental to the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation. Read more.
  • GM to Expand Access to EV Charging with More than 40,000 Community-Based Charging Stations and New Smart EV Supply Equipment. General Motors announced a new community charging program to install up to 40,000 Level 2 EV chargers across the U.S. and Canada. GM and its dealers will work together to expand access to charging in local communities including in underserved, rural and urban areas where EV charging access is often limited. This initiative, which begins in 2022, is part of GM’s recently announced commitment to invest nearly $750 million to expand home, workplace and public charging infrastructure through its Ultium Charge 360 ecosystem. Read more.
  • General Motors Signs MoU with GE Renewable Energy to Develop Supply Chain of Rare Earth and Other Materials to Support EV and Renewable Energy Growth. General Motors and GE Renewable Energy announced they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate opportunities to improve supplies of heavy and light rare earth materials and magnets, copper and electrical steel used for manufacturing of electric vehicles and renewable energy equipment. Read more.
  • GM to Invest in Next-Generation Battery Facility That Will Lower EV Costs, Accelerate Speed to Market. General Motors announced the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center, an all-new facility that will significantly expand the company’s battery technology operations and accelerate development and commercialization of longer range, more affordable electric vehicle batteries. The Wallace Center will be located on the campus of GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. Read more.
  • Lear Wins one 2021 Automotive News PACE and two PACEpilot Awards. Lear Corporation announced it has won one 2021 Automotive News PACE and two PACEpilot Innovation to Watch Awards, which recognize automotive suppliers for superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance. Lear’s INTU™ Thermal Comfort with Gentherm’s ClimateSense™ and 5G Telecommunications Unit (TCU) won PACEpilot honors. At the same time, the company’s Battery Disconnect Unit (BDU) was named a PACE Award winner. Read more.
  • Monolith Enters Into Agreement To Scale Clean Hydrogen And Carbon Black Technology Internationally. Monolith announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK Inc. to pursue a joint venture for producing clean hydrogen and carbon black products in South Korea. Monolith currently produces clean hydrogen and carbon black in Hallam, Nebraska, with plans for additional U.S.-based growth already underway. Read more.
  • Retriev Technologies Combines with Heritage Battery Recycling. Heritage announced the combination of Heritage Battery Recycling, its battery management and recycling business, with Retriev Technologies. The combination with Retriev marks a key step in Heritage’s expansion to further develop a comprehensive recycling and reuse battery management platform. KBI will continue as an active equity partner in Retriev. Read more.
  • Stellantis Announces $229 Million Investment in Kokomo, Indiana, Operations to Accelerate Electrification Plans. Stellantis announced it would invest a total of $229 million in three of its Kokomo, Indiana, plants to help the company reach its goal of achieving 40% low-emission vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2030. This announcement, which will retain 662 jobs, comes three months after the company laid out its long-term electrification strategy, where it committed to investing $35 billion through 2025 in electrification and software. Read more.
  • Stellantis and LG Energy Solution to Form Joint Venture for Lithium-Ion Battery Production in North America. Stellantis N.V. and LG Energy Solution announced that their companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. Read more.
  • Stellantis and Samsung SDI to Form Joint Venture for Lithium-Ion Battery Production in North America. Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI announced that their companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. Targeted to start in 2025, the plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours, with the ability to increase up to 40 gigawatt hours in the future.  Read more.
  • Toyota Charges into Electrified Future in the U.S. with 10-year, $3.4 billion Investment. Toyota announced that it will invest approximately $3.4 billion in automotive batteries in the United States through 2030. Specifically, the investment is for developing and localizing automotive battery production, including those for battery electric vehicles, and is part of the global total of approx. $13.5 billion set aside for investment in battery development and production announced by Toyota Motor Corporation. Read more.
  • Turning Pledges into Actions: Toyota Collaborates with Suppliers to Tackle Environmental Challenges. Toyota is asking suppliers to report CO2 emissions on an annual basis and commit to an annual carbon reduction of at least 2%, in addition to other environmental initiatives that focus on carbon, water, materials and biodiversity. To aid suppliers in the effort, Toyota has partnered with Manufacture 2030 (M2030), a platform that supports the tracking and forecasting of corporate sustainability performance indicators and helps suppliers share best practices across the industry. Read more. Read more.
  • VLS Inaugural ESG Report. VLS celebrated Environmental Awareness Month with its very first Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report. This 2020 calendar year report begins its journey of tracking milestones and goals towards becoming a Sustainable company. Read more.
  • WM Highlights Investments in Its People, Recycling and Renewable Natural Gas in 2021 Sustainability Report. Waste Management announced the release of the WM 2021 Sustainability Report, where the company noted progress against its 2025 and 2038 sustainability goals around people, customers, environment and community, including key investments made through early 2021 to further the company’s sustainability agenda. Read more.
  • Ohio EPA Announces 2021 Encouraging Environmental Excellence Winners. Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson recognized 15 organizations with the Agency’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) stewardship award, including three of Honda Development and Manufacturing of America, LLC‘s Ohio plants. Read more.
  • Data quality and collaboration key to sustainable future. Collaboration based on good quality data is key to sustainability efforts, according to speakers from GM, Honda and Toyota Motor at Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Global conference, and there are a number of initiatives underway designed to improve that collaboration. Read more.
  • Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) Announces 2021 Environmental Sustainability Award Winners. Representatives from Avangard Innovative, ERA Environmental, General Motors, Honda Development and Manufacturing America, Li-Cycle Corp. and Magna International recognized for environmental leadership. Read more.

SP members may send their environmental sustainability news to info@supplierspartnership.org for consideration in future news roundups. And, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest SP news and updates.

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