Lamborghini goes carbon neutral

LAMBORGHINI's Sant'Agata supercar factory has been officially certified as carbon-neutral by one of the world's leading carbon footprint management organisations, DNV GL.

The German-owned Italian high-performance car-maker has been progressively reducing its environmental impact, culminating in the commissioning of a major tri-generation and district heating installation.

With the official certification, Lamborghini has become the first company globally to receive CO2-neutral recognition from the Norwegian company's ‘carbon neutrality’ program.

DNV GL was contracted by Lamborghini's parent company Volkswagen Group to identify areas in which carbon emissions and fossil fuel dependence can be reduced, resulting in the installation of the new equipment.

The tri-generation plant produces electricity, heating and cooling for the factory using natural gas instead of relying on the local energy grid, and reduces the facility's CO2 emissions by 820 tons each year.

About 9800 MWhe of energy is produced by the plant – enough to power all the surrounding houses in Sant'Agata.

The power station will be fueled by bio-gas by 2017, further cutting emissions by up to 5600 tons.

In addition to more environmentally friendly power generation, the factory is also the first in Italy to use a district heating system, which heats water in a bio-gas cogeneration plant, six kilometres from the factory.

The hot water is distributed around the factory in cooler months via an underground pipe network, and saves another 1800 tons of CO2 each year.

Other efforts that have helped Lamborghini to achieve the certification are the installation of one of the largest photovoltaic solar arrays in the area, and cooperation with the local council to develop bicycle mobility in the area.

While Lamborghini has succeeded in creating one of the world's most environmentally sensitive production lines, the supercar-maker is yet to follow the lead of some rivals with hybrid or electric powertrains in its cars.

Tesla offers an all-electric high-performance sedan with supercar acceleration and zero emissions, and Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche all offer extreme hybrid systems capable of running on electric only power. Lamborghini, however, uses only 10-cylinder and 12-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engines.

When in the back of a Huracan, the 5.2-litre V10 engine uses 12.5 litres of petrol per 100km on the combined cycle, while the 6.5-litre V12 that powers its big sister Aventador sucks down a hefty 17.2L/100km.

Lamborghini has teased the possibility of a hybrid with its Asterion concept car at the Paris motor show last year, but is yet to announce a production model that will use its three electric motors combined with a V10.