Joerg Teuchert
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Swedish electric motorcycle company Cake has pledged to produce the first “truly fossil-free” electric off-road bike by 2025 – and has produced a new installation to highlight the potential carbon dioxide savings.
The Stockholm-based manufacturer is working with Swedish energy company Vattenfall on the “Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever” project, which has been tasked with researching ways to minimize carbon emissions at every stage of the production and manufacture of a electric off-roader Cake Kalk OR. .
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The two companies have calculated that the 1186 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) – or 637 cubic meters, if you prefer – are currently created during the production of one of Cake’s electric bikes. The two companies illustrated this by placing a Kalk OR inside a cube that sums the same dimensions.
Cake boss Steve Ytterborn said: “The popular term fossil-free vehicles means a green wash until all production has been decarbonized, regardless of what fuel they run on.”
He added: “To understand and address our own impact, we have measured emissions from our entire production chain for a Cake Kalk GOLD, and have started to decarbonize every step to a minimum by 2025. In doing so , our second most important contribution to the planet is to inspire other manufacturers to step up and do the same.”
Vattenfall and Cake have been working on the project since last year, which involved taking the bike apart and trying to assess the CO2e impact of each individual component. This involved working with Cake suppliers. CO2e reduction is currently focused on materials such as aluminum, steel, plastic and rubber, as well as the production of the controller, motor, battery, suspension and electronics of the bike.
The company previously announced that it was working with Papershell to develop a paper-based natural fiber composite that could replace plastic.
Cake and Vattenfall and work with existing suppliers and reach out to “innovative manufacturers of alternative components and materials”.
The 1186 kg of CO2e that Cake claims is produced during the production of a Kalk OR bike is lower than the 1334 kg of CO2e created during the production of a 46-inch LED TV – and significantly lower than the 23 to 35 tonnes. of CO2e produced during the manufacture of an electric car.
For a more in-depth comparison, Cake says that producing a pair of jeans created 33 kg of CO2e and preparing 1 kg of beef produces around 60 kg of CO2. Using a 60 liter tank of petrol in a combustion engine car creates around 182 kg of CO2e.
