German-based companies, the Dürr Group and Mercedes-Benz, announced a long-term strategic alliance in the field of painting technology equipment.
The aim of the partnership is to make vehicle painting CO2-free and, in turn, jointly set new standards in sustainability.
“Optimizing energy consumption in the painting process is the key prerequisite for being able to build cars in a climate-neutral way. That is why the development of energy-efficient and climate-neutral technologies is at the top of our innovation agenda. The strategic partnership with Mercedes-Benz is an important lighthouse project in Germany as an industrial location: Together, we are implementing climate-friendly production processes on a large scale and are thus also playing a pioneering role internationally,” said the CEO of Dürr AG, Dr. Jochen Weyrauch.
After fulfilling all contractual conditions, they will equip the Mercedes-Benz paint shop in Sindelfingen by Dürr with the latest technologies in the coming years.
The partnership agreement, which has been in place for a while, marks a new phase in Mercedes-Benz and Dürr’s decade-long collaboration.
Included in it is a statement of purpose to jointly plan and carry out the updating of painting technology in German plants.
The first project is constructing a sustainable paint shop in Sindelfingen, with Dürr receiving a supply order from Mercedes-Benz next year. This may lead to future paint shop orders.
According to the framework of this cooperation, they intend to lower energy usage per painted car body to less than 400-kilowatt hours which amounts to less than half of current use and is an absolute record high.[1]
The reduction will be made possible by Dürr software tools for energy management and particularly energy-efficient technologies, such as those used for the economical and intelligent operation of paint booths and vehicle body ovens.
There are also plans underway where future painting will be feasible without using fossil fuels.
Instead, they will use green electricity to meet energy needs and allow for CO2-free operation, which is crucial in decarbonizing the automotive industry.
“By 2039, we intend to cover the energy needs of our global production network of Mercedes-Benz entirely with renewable energies. Together with Dürr, we will take decisive steps in this direction in the coming years and take painting to a whole new level in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency,” said Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production and Supply Chain Management
References
- Dürr Group, ‘Dürr and Mercedes-Benz agree on strategic partnership for sustainable painting technology’, 31 July 2023, https://www.durr.com/en/media/news/news-detail/view/duerr-and-mercedes-benz-agree-on-strategic-partnership-for-sustainable-painting-technology-88703[↩]
