Electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Volta Trucks has confirmed the appointment of CPC Group, Europe’s largest composite manufacturing company, to develop and supply the sustainable and recyclable composite exterior body panels for the Volta Zero. The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner city logistics.
Sustainability is at the heart of the Volta Trucks brand, and this extends well beyond the removal of tailpipe emissions and into the sustainability of the vehicle’s supply chain and material selection. When the Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, it was the first commercial vehicle to use sustainably-sourced flax and biodegradable resin composite panels. The fully natural, lightweight, high-performance fibre material is almost CO2 neutral over its lifecycle, and matches the stiffness and weight of carbon fibre but uses 75% less CO2 to produce.
CPC Group has over 10 year’s composites experience and has grown to become Europe’s largest composites manufacturer, employing over 1,000 experts, with investments of over €300 million, and aims to transform composite vehicle production from niche into volume manufacturing. CPC Group shares clear synergies with Volta Trucks in terms of its technological and commercial ambitions, making it a natural partner.
Volta Trucks will work with CPC Group to develop and industrialise these new and innovative, sustainable and recyclable composite materials to the significant volumes needed to deliver on the company’s long-term sales ambitions. Full-scale production of customer-specification vehicles will commence at the end of 2022 using state-of-the-art composite materials throughout the body & trim of the vehicle. Production will start with the first iteration of composite, with a series of future developments in sustainable composite materials forming part of the company’s long-term road map that’s being developed with its key supply chain and material development partners.
Announcing the partnership with CPC Group, Founder and Executive Chairman of Volta Trucks, Carl-Magnus Norden, said; “Sustainability is a cornerstone of our company’s purpose because saving the planet cannot wait. It must happen now, and Volta Trucks wants to spearhead the rapid change in large commercial vehicles. Our innovative full-electric powetrain will remove harmful exhaust emissions, reducing climate change and improving inner-city air quality. But for Volta Trucks, sustainability is much more than just tailpipe emissions. We take an environmental-first approach to all material sourcing to deliver on our mission of becoming the world’s most sustainable commercial vehicle manufacturer.”
Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, Essa Al-Saleh, continued; “The appointment of CPC Group as a strategic partner is very significant. We are on a journey together, not just in commercial partnership but in technological development as we jointly create the innovative, recycled and natural composites of our sustainable future. As with our other strategic partners who are world-class experts in their field, working with CPC Group as Europe’s largest composites manufacturer gives us the strength, resources and confidence we need to deliver on our objectives.”
Chief Executive Officer of CPC Srl, Franco Iorio, mentioned; “Volta Trucks will change the mobility of vehicles within the world and I am personally glad to dedicate a considerable share of our new company capacity for this project. By 2023, CPC will have the biggest composite capacity within Europe, not only in terms of pressing but also for final machining, bonding and painting, and Volta Trucks will be an important part of the strategy.”
Chief Sales Director of CPC Srl, Thomas Vecchi, concluded; “CPC is an innovative and futuristic company and we are pleased with the partnership with Volta Trucks that will be a pioneer in the market. It is fantastic to share a growth road map with Volta Trucks and we will work together to reach these important goals in the high volume production needed.”
