Re-designing a Polestar 2 interior door panel: Aiming to reduce the environmental impact by half
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Examensarbete på grundnivå
Programme
Model builders
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Abstract
This bachelor’s thesis was written in cooperation with the car manufacturer Polestar in
Gothenburg focusing on sustainability by using alternative materials and design strategies to
reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 50% during the manufacturing of a Polestar 2 interior
door panel. The materials used to manufacture a car’s interior account for 10% of all the
emissions generated during car production. The project has included an analysis of the current
problems with the existing door panel regarding materials and emissions created but has also
worked with examining a door panel's lifecycle from a cradle-to-grave perspective. This was
explored by performing a Life Cycle Analysis with two different softwares, openLCA and
GRANTA Edupack. The collected data and the impact assessment calculations created a
baseline when scouting for new and more sustainable material options. Methods used for the
Life Cycle Assessment have been retrieved from literary studies as well as from the company’s
own LCA report 2021. Furthermore, more creative methods for conceptualisation, idea
generating and material scouting have been used. To visualise how certain materials would be
perceived by customers, concepts were visualised in Photoshop. These concepts were evaluated
using decision making matrices which led to the final concept. The final concept was modelled
in Catia V5 and rendered in Autodesk VRED. The result was a door panel made of cork and a
coffee-polymer, which reduced the carbon footprint by 68%. The project shall provide a base
for further research in material development within the automotive industry.
Description
Keywords
materials, sustainability, LCA, Life Cycle Assessment, car interior, emissions