Treated wastewater now being used in production in a ‘closed loop’ model Cooperation with Hydria will save approximately 100,000 cubic meters of drinking water per year Sustainable water use is a key area of activity under the cross-site environmental program Mission:Zero
As of this date, Audi Brussels is using treated water in manufacturing and testing processes, under its pioneering “Re-Use” program. This joint project with the Belgian company Hydria, which specializes in the collection and treatment of wastewater, marks a significant step forward for water conservation in automotive manufacturing.
Audi Brussels continues to expand its sustainability initiatives, and the launch of its “Re-Use” project is a major milestone in an important aspect of sustainability: reducing water consumption. In automotive manufacturing, water is used primarily in paint shops and for vehicle leak testing. Thanks to a cooperation with the Belgian company Hydria, the company is now able to reuse water in a cyclical model with virtually no loss. Industrial wastewater from the Brussels site is treated, not to drinking water quality but for repeated use in plant processes. Recycling water in a closed loop In partnership with the Brussels region, Hydria manages the Brussels South wastewater treatment plant located near the Audi facility. This is where the industrial wastewater from production is treated and then returned to the Audi plant. The approach allows Audi Brussels to integrate the treated wastewater in its industrial processes. By implementing this closed loop, the site is able to save approximately 100,000 cubic meters of drinking water per year, the equivalent of about 40 Olympic swimming pools. This makes Audi Brussels the first company to permanently implement this solution in cooperation with Hydria.
Since January 1, 2024, Ingolstadt is the third Audi location to manufacture with net zero emissions1, following Brussels (2018) and Győr (2020). In addition, the brand with the four rings’ headquarters is also the first Audi location in Germany to have its own battery assembly facility.
Audi CEO Gernot Döllner emphasizes the significance of the first model based on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE): “The PPE, and with it the Q6 e-tron series, form the basis for subsequent electric Audi models. In this way, we are taking a decisive step towards offering an electric model in all core segments by 2027.” Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker sees the start of production as an important milestone for the 360factory production strategy: “By the end of the decade, we will have successively equipped all Audi locations for the production of electric models. We are harnessing electrification to comprehensively transform our existing plants. With the production of the Q6 e-tron series, the Ingolstadt plant is taking the next step towards becoming a 360factory.” Audi has a clear vision for the production of the future. As part of this holistic, sustainable approach, the company is modernizing, digitalizing, and transforming its existing plants. The Audi Q6 e-tron series, as well as all other vehicles built at the site, have been made with net zero emissions1 since 2024. State-of-the-art production technology in the new battery assembly facility One example of how Audi is modernizing and expanding its existing systems is the new battery assembly facility for PPE models. On an area of around 30,000 square meters (323,000 sq ft), 300 employees work in three shifts with an automation rate of almost 90 percent to assemble up to 1,000 high-voltage batteries per day – initially for the Q6 e-tron series. At the same time, the brand with the four rings is gaining important experience that it will later use to also produce battery modules itself.
Dintner transferred to Brussels in 2007, assuming the dual function of Plant Manager and Spokesman for the Management of Audi Brussels. He transferred to Volkswagen de México in 2011 as Board Member for Production and Logistics. In 2014, he became CEO of AUDI MÉXICO S.A. de C.V. In this role, Dintner was responsible for establishing the first Audi plant in Mexico. Dintner returned to Ingolstadt in May of 2019, where he headed the Pre-Series Center (VSC) of AUDI AG. Alfons Dintner has been Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. since October 1, 2019.
After Brussels (Belgium, 2018) and Győr (Hungary, 2020), it is the third Audi plant to operate with net zero emissions. In addition are the Audi R8 and e-tron GT quattro models, which have been built at Böllinger Höfe with net zero emissions since 2020. As part of its Mission:Zero environmental program, Audi has set itself the goal of achieving net carbon neutrality at all its sites worldwide by 2025. By then, the final steps will have been taken in Neckarsulm and San José Chiapa (Mexico).
Audi Board Member for Production and Logistics Gerd Walker emphasizes: “Protecting the environment as best as possible is firmly anchored in Audi’s corporate strategy. By transitioning the Ingolstadt site to renewable energies, we are taking a major step toward our goal of net carbon-neutral1 vehicle production.” To achieve its ambitious goal, the brand with the four rings is implementing a four-pillar concept.
1. Increasing energy efficiency In the first pillar, Audi is improving energy efficiency at its sites, which will already avoid large amounts of carbon emissions. In 2022, for example, these energy management measures allowed the Ingolstadt site to save more than 35,000 megawatt hours of energy and prevent more than 5,000 tons of carbon emissions. The platform Energy Analytics platform developed by Audi itself has made a significant contribution to achieving this goal. Energy Analytics is a software-based analysis system that performs live compilation, preparation, and processing of large quantities of data from production processes from various sources in the company. This process is known in general as data mining.
Brussels: greening roofs and joining forces against invasive plant species At the production site in Belgium, the focus was on naturalizing an outdoor area and greening the roofs near the gates. These activities created habitats for various local species of plants and animals as well as a rainwater reservoir to improve the microclimate. To prevent the spread of invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed and summer lilac, employees joined forces to clear the outdoor areas at the site. Tips were also compiled on how Audi employees can take action against plant species that are harmful to local flora in their free time. > More on the topic of sustainability at Audi
This model was recently the protagonist of the "Diavel V4 Design Night" events, which from Amsterdam to New York up to Paris, Brussels, London, Kyoto and Shanghai, focused attention on Ducati design, in particular on a model that over the years has become an authentic style icon. The Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer is in the midst of the Ducati World Première 2024 which has already revealed to enthusiasts some of the new models for next year starting from the Monster 30th Anniversary in a limited and numbered series of 500 units, which is officially sold-out. The Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour, the DesertX Rally and the Multistrada V4 RS have also already been presented. The Ducati World Première calendar, so as not to miss a single episode, is available in the dedicated section of the official Ducati website. Ducati is awaiting all enthusiasts at EICMA to see the entire 2024 Ducati range live.
Electric pioneer Audi Brussels to produce the Q4 e-tron From the end of the year, Audi will produce the Audi Q4 e-tron model series at its Brussels site in addition to production in Zwickau. This move, a response to the high demand for the model, allows Audi to increase production capacity. Audi Brussels has been producing the Audi Q8 e-tron and the Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron since December 2022. Prior to that, the Audi e-tron, the first fully electric production model from the brand with the four rings, has been rolling off the production line in Brussels since 2018. The plant in Brussels is the world’s first independently certified carbon-neutral high-volume production facility in the premium segment. In the long term, Audi plans to convert all its sites to the production of electric models. After Brussels and Böllinger Höfe at the Neckarsulm site for the Audi e-tron GT quattro, Ingolstadt will begin the ramp-up for the first model on the new Premium Platform Electric (PPE). By the end of the decade, each Audi plant will produce at least one fully electric model. As already achieved in Brussels and Győr, all Audi sites aim to achieve net carbon-neutral production1 by 2025. 1Audi understands net-zero CO2 emissions to mean a situation in which, after other possible reduction measures have been exhausted, the company offsets the carbon emitted by Audi’s products or activities and/or the carbon emissions that currently cannot be avoided in the supply chain, manufacturing, and recycling of Audi vehicles through voluntary offsetting projects carried out worldwide.
Litter traps in rivers and harbors, such as those already in place in the Brussels-Charleroi Canal, in Budapest, and in Rotterdam, are designed to prevent plastic waste from reaching the sea in the first place. The litter that is collected is sorted and then recycled. The closed-loop concept also plays a major role in Audi’s “Sustainable extraction of high-tech elements” project. Together with the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, the Audi Environmental Foundation is researching new means for extracting high-tech metals such as gallium, indium, germanium as well as the rare-earth elements. 1 http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/ressourcenbericht2022, p. 44 ff