The automobile sector, key for the decarbonization of the industry

The Repsol Foundation and the Comillas Pontifical University organized the online seminar The decarbonization of the automobile industry. Current state of the sector, which is part of the Repsol Foundation Energy Transition Education and Research Program in Comillas – ICAI activities, put in place last year.

The conference focused on analyzing the situation and opportunities of the automobile manufacturing sector amidst the challenge of decarbonization from the industry's point of view. To that end, representatives from Sernauto (Spanish Association of Automotive Suppliers), María Luisa Soria, Director of International Relations and Innovation, and Cristina San Martín, Director of Coordination, Projects and Innovation; and from Stellantis, Juán Rafael López, head of Environment and Risk Manager of the Center of Madrid, all took part.

Julio L. Martínez, SJ, Rector of the Comillas Pontifical University, and António Calçada, vice chairman of the Repsol Foundation, opened the conference.

Julio L. Martínez, SJ, highlighted that the dercarbonization of the industry implies a structural change in the energy systems that involves a change of public culture. Said change concerns people whose mentality, way of life, and values, mean that they make decisions in politics and the economy, making technology advance.

For his part, António Calçada stated that the energy transition is a challenge, but also a source of opportunities, highlighting that “Repsol and its Foundation are committed to an inclusive energy transition that must be built on the technological and industrial strengths and competitive advantages of our country”.

During her speech, María Luisa Soria stated the important role that a consolidated automotive industry plays in Spain, which gives direct and indirect employment to two million people. As she underlined, the automotive components industry is one of the sectors that invests most in Innovation and Development (R&D&I), namely triple the industry average, which means that there are increasingly safer, more efficient, and more sustainably manufactured vehicles on roads.

She equally stated that the path towards decarbonization in the whole life cycle of the vehicle must be done in a progressive and orderly way, with a concrete plan of measures that take environmental, economic, and social factors into account. And also which allows them to continue to guarantee the mobility of citizens, in their different methods

For her part, Cristina San Martín, made reference to the White Paper Contribution of the automotive components industry to sustainable development. Levers to advance the 2030 Agenda, which contains 40 initiatives of companies in the sector related to sustainability. Examples of good practice in the area of CO₂ emission reduction by improving the energy efficiency of industrial processes, the use of renewables or the purchase of green energy, and the offsetting of unavoidable carbon emissions stand out. Responsible supply chain management, the implementation of water recycling and heat recovery systems, or different circular economy practices, such as remanufacturing and the use of recycled materials or the development of processes for waste utilization, equally stand out.

For his part, Juan Rafael López, head of Environment and Risk Manager of Stellantis, delved deeper into the sustainability measures and carbon footprint

reduction in the automobile sector, applying a case study of the Stellantis car factory in Madrid. In his talk, he emphasized the different actions that have led them to halve the number of CO₂ emissions in the last 10 years, such as the installation of frequency variators in motors, LED lighting, renovation of boilers or improvement of thermal insulation in buildings. Since 2019, all the electricity consumed in the Madrid plant is green and the commitment of the Stellantis Group for 2030 is for all the factories to be carbon-neutral.

The Repsol Foundation Energy Transition Education and Research Program

The Education and Research Program with the Comillas Pontifical University, as its director José Ignacio Linares stated, professor of Energy Engineering at Comillas ICAI, is going to focus on analyzing the ways to achieve sustainable decarbonization of the industry, using carbon footprint and life cycle analysis as a tool.

The Repsol Foundation, with the aim of transferring the relevance and impact of the energy transition to society and encouraging, with the help of science, knowledge and analysis, and rigorous debate on the matter, is driving the creation of an Energy Transition Education and Research Program within a network of universities, with each focused on a specific topic.

Thus, the program in collaboration with the University of Barcelona focuses on CO₂ capture, use, and storage systems. For its part, the program with the Polytechnic University of Madrid's Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII-UPM) focuses on sustainable mobility with two lines of action: improvement of air quality, and mobility's carbon footprint.