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Volta Zero to use sustainable and recyclable composite exterior body panels

Volta Trucks has appointed CPC Group, one of Europe’s largest composite manufacturing companies, to develop and supply the sustainable and recyclable composite exterior body panels for the Volta Zero.

The Volta Zero is a purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner city logistics.

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 per cent less CO2 to produce.

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 composite materials throughout the body and 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.

Founder and executive chairman of Volta Trucks, Carl-Magnus Norden, said: “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.”