Overview – Sustainability when driving

Sustainability when driving

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Against microplastics in wastewater
Sustainability
11/29/2024

Against microplastics in wastewater: pilot project started in Copenhagen

Each person consumes five grams of microplastics per week: This was the conclusion reached by the Australian University of Newcastle in 2019. The small plastic particles, up to five millimeters in size, enter the environment through food, cosmetics and washing clothes, for example, and into our bodies via the water cycle. In order to reduce the proportion of microplastics, the city of Copenhagen uses a special microplastic filter. It is intended to capture microplastics such as tire abrasion that is washed from the street into the sewage system. The filter is based on a funding project from the TU Berlin and the Audi Environmental Foundation. A filter structure that is specially adapted to the waste typical for the area of operation will be piloted in the city of Copenhagen from November and is intended to make a contribution to clean water.
Engineers of optimism: Audi Environmental Foundation looks back on 15 years of engagement
Sustainability
10/23/2024

Engineers of optimism: Audi Environmental Foundation looks back on 15 years of engagement

The Audi Environmental Foundation defines “greenovation” as innovative technologies that either contribute directly to environmental protection or make an existing practice from the fields of research and the economy more environmentally friendly than before. Since 2009, the Foundation has initiated scientific and technical projects for a livable environment, conducted environmental education, and motivated people of every age to take action to protect our natural resources. At an evening of discussion with renowned astrophysicist Harald Lesch and time researcher Jonas Geissler, the Foundation looked back on its first 15 years of activity with around 300 guests at the Ingolstadt Cultural Center. Guests included Gerd Walker, Member of the Board of Management for Production and Logistics at AUDI AG and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Audi Environmental Foundation, and former ski racer Felix Neureuther, also a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Audi A6 Avant e-tron / Audi A6 Sportback e-tron / Audi S6 Sportback e-tron
Technology
07/31/2024

Rethinking the upper mid-size segment: the Audi A6 e-tron sets standards in design and range

The Audi A6 e-tron concept debuted at the Auto Shanghai 2021 trade fair as the forerunner of an innovative family of all-electric volume models. Audi is now launching the A6 e-tron as a Sportback and Avant. As the second model on the PPE platform, the upper mid-size vehicle picks up on the familiar product strengths of performance, range, efficiency, and charging. It is also the platform’s first model with a flat floor concept. The exterior is powerful, sporty, and perfectly proportioned. Audi's new design philosophy defines the interior. Depending on the equipment level, the A6 e-tron offers many innovative features, such as second-generation virtual exterior mirrors, a panoramic glass roof that becomes opaque at the touch of a button and illuminated rings at the rear. The A6 e-tron and S6 e-tron can be ordered from September 2024 as Sportback and Avant versions. Prices at market launch are 75,600 euros for the A6 Sportback e-tron performance and 99,500 euros for the Audi S6 Sportback e-tron.
Audi Q4 35 e-tron
Models
07/18/2024

An attractive entry into electric mobility: the Audi Q4 35 e-tron

Audi is adding an interesting entry-level variant to the Q4 e-tron series: the multifaceted Audi Q4 35 e-tron costs 45,600 euros, and the Sportback with an elegant rear is 47,600 euros. The all-electric premium model includes comprehensive equipment as standard, offers a range of up to 355 kilometers (Sportback: 365 kilometers), and a DC charging capacity of 145 kW. New in the Q4 e-tron: an integrated app store enables direct access to popular third-party apps such as Spotify or Audible without using a smartphone. The Q4 35 e-tron will be available to order from July this year.
The new Audi e-tron GT model family
Models
06/18/2024

The new Audi e-tron GT: An electrifying masterpiece

The Audi e-tron GT quattro has been the electric and sporty top model in Audi’s product portfolio since its premiere in 2021. The four-door Gran Turismo combines evocative design with a powerful drive system and dynamic handling. The new versions significantly improve the sporty vehicle's range, performance, charging, and handling. With the RS e-tron GT performance, Audi is debuting its first fully electric RS performance model. The new models in the Audi e-tron GT family are available to order now.

Lifecycle analysis

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Expansion of green charging

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Audi TechTalk: Green Technology
Company
06/17/2021

Partnership with energy providers: Audi funding expansion of renewable energy to increase the number of charging stations in Europe that use green power

The company’s vision is absolutely clear: Audi wants to become a provider of carbon-neutral mobility. To achieve this goal, the company is partnering with energy providers to support the expansion of renewable energy sources. The aim is to work with these different partners to build new wind and solar farms in various European countries by 2025, which together are expected to generate around 5 terawatt hours of additional green power. This corresponds to an installed capacity of about 250 new wind turbines. The aim is for the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources by the cooperation partners to increase along with the increasing proportion of electric cars. The first project, a solar park in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is being developed in collaboration with the German utility company RWE. The plant will come on stream in 2022 and is designed for a total capacity of 170 million kilowatt hours. Encompassing nearly 420,000 solar panels, it will be one of the largest independent solar parks in Germany. Further projects are to quickly follow.

Charging technology and infrastructure

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Audi charging hub Frankfurt
Sustainability
03/05/2024

Charging without barriers at Audi: challenge accepted

When creating infrastructure for electric vehicles, it is important to remember people with mobility requirements. Audi brand ambassador Gerd Schönfelder, the most successful Winter Paralympian of all time, and Audi driver Uwe Herrmann have clear ideas on what charging without barriers and disability-friendly vehicle modifications should look like. Schönfelder lost his right arm and shoulder in an accident at the age of 19, while Hermann has been using a wheelchair since adolescence. While Schönfelder has been driving an Audi Q4 e-tron for the past 18 months, Herrmann (still) drives an Audi with a gasoline engine and is curious to hear about Schönfelder’s experiences. At the opening of the sixth Audi charging hub in Frankfurt am Main, the two men met up for a chat.
Audi charging hub Frankfurt
Sustainability
03/05/2024

Audi charging hub in Frankfurt: easy, fast, and without barriers

Audi opens its sixth charging hub in Frankfurt am Main. At Orber Straße, the drivers of electric cars of all makes can charge their vehicles with up to 320 kW of power using four high-power-charging (HPC) stations. While their car charges, users can have an enjoyable experience at the adjacent Klassikstadt Frankfurt. Audi has partnered up with this enterprise located in a listed historical former factory that boasts an internationally renowned collection of vintage and modern classic cars and offers a range of services. Guests can choose from a wide selection of snacks, beverages, and hot meals and enjoy them in an attractive, comfortable setting. Moreover, all Audi charging hubs are designed to be barrier-free: a swivel arm, for which a patent has been registered, height-adjustable displays, and ample room for maneuvering – in a wheelchair, for example – make charging easy for all, including people with disabilities.
Audi charging hub Berlin
Technology
04/13/2023

“Electrifying” opportunities instead of charging boredom: New Audi charging hub in downtown Berlin

The brand with the four rings is opening a third Audi charging hub right in the center of Berlin. In the German capital, as in Nuremberg and Zurich, second-life batteries will act as buffer storage, and, like Zurich, the compact Audi charging hub with four quick-charging points will be used. At the site in Prenzlauer Berg, however, Audi is taking a different approach to the power hookup. This development is explained in this interview by Elias Hammer, who is the Audi Manager responsible for the rollout in Berlin and for the energy system integration for the Audi charging hub. Future users of the Audi charging hub in Berlin can look forward to an “electrifying wait” during charging instead of the usual boredom as the cooperation with Frischeparadies will mean the time can be put to good use. For Jörg Haucke, a Q4 e-tron customer living in Berlin, the Audi charging hub is the perfect solution for urban charging, with many large cities currently still lacking a quick-charging infrastructure.

Recyclates

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Pilot Project: Physical Recycling Makes Mixed Plastic Waste Recyclable
Sustainability
09/26/2022

Pilot Project: Physical Recycling Makes Mixed Plastic Waste Recyclable

Audi is promoting sustainable product development and wants to establish more and more cycles. Together with partners from science and industry, the company with the four rings is researching ways of improving material recyclability and saving primary materials. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute, the manufacturer is now testing an additional method of recycling plastics and making them usable for mass production. As part of Audi Environmental Week, Audi employees will be focusing on recycling and many other ideas for a more sustainable company. This is the campaign’s second year and it is intended to promote networking, exchange, and interdisciplinary cooperation with the aim of improving Audi’s sustainability performance.
Pilot project glass recycling
Company
04/25/2022

Pilot project started: Faulty car glass to be turned into new windowpanes for the Audi Q4 e-tron

Faulty car windows often go in the recycling bin when the cracked part cannot be fixed. A closed material circuit does not yet exist for damaged car glass. This is where Audi and its partner companies Reiling Glas Recycling, Saint-Gobain Glass, and Saint-Gobain Sekurit are now doing pioneering work as part of a joint pilot project. The partner companies want to turn the damaged auto glass into recyclable material for model production and have drawn up a multi-stage process for that purpose: using an innovative recycling process, the car windows are first broken into small pieces. Then all the non-glass impurities like glue residue are eliminated. The resulting glass granulate is melted down and turned into new plate glass. That plate glass is then turned into a new car window. If this pilot is successful, the windows that are produced this way will be used in models in the Audi Q4 e-tron series in the future.
Audi and KIT are working on recycling method for automotive plastics
Company
06/17/2021

A new lease on life: recycling automotive plastics

As part of the THINKTANK Industrial Resource Strategies, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have been working with Audi for a good six months on the pilot project “Chemical Recycling of plastics from automotive manufacturing.” Now that the project has been completed, it is clear that the Chemical Recycling of mixed plastic waste is both technically feasible and environmentally and financially promising. The plastic waste from automotive manufacturing can be processed into pyrolysis oil and could replace petroleum as a raw material for the production of high-quality plastic components in Audi models. The material cycles closed in this way save valuable resources, energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As such, Chemical Recycling represents a viable alternative to energy recovery and complements mechanical processing. In this way, Audi could use fossil resources for longer and thus scale back the procurement of additional fossil resources accordingly. Together with partners from the chemical industry and KIT, Audi now plans to take the next step and research the industrialization of this cycle.
Audi and THINKTANK at KIT are working on recycling method for automotive plastics
Company
11/23/2020

Audi and KIT are working on recycling method for automotive plastics

A large number of components in automobiles are made from plastics. They have to meet exacting safety, heat resistance and quality requirements. That is why, so far, only petroleum-based materials have been suitable for manufacturing plastic components in automobiles that are subjected to particularly intensive wear. Such materials are not recyclable in most cases. Whereas plastics of the same type can often be mechanically recycled, recycling of mixed plastic waste poses a major challenge. Audi and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) are therefore launching a pilot project for chemical recycling as part of the “Industrial Resource Strategies” THINKTANK in order to feed such mixed plastic fractions back into a resource-conserving circular system.