Stellantis announces carbon net-zero emission goal by 2038

Stellantis announces plan to achieve carbon net zero by 2038

In an age when the auto industry is transitioning to electric vehicles - Stellantis is taking another step away from the fossil fuels that create climate change.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Stellantis made a big announcement Monday about working with DTE Energy for a cleaner future. The automaker is teaming up with DTE on its mission to achieve carbon net-zero emissions globally by 2038.

"Every vehicle we're manufacturing in southeast Michigan is going to be assembled with the equivalent of 100% carbon-free electricity, a big, big change," said Stellantis COO Mark Stewart.

Stewart says it will be happening by 2026 at the company's 70 sites in southeast Michigan. The announcement was made Monday alongside DTE at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.

"(It is) one of the largest utility-based renewable energy transactions in U.S. history," said Jerry Norcia, CEO of DTE. "That's huge."

It's part of DTE's MI Green Power Initiative - a voluntary renewable energy program. It involves 400 megawatts of solar energy - on close to $2,000 acres of land to be placed at multiple DTE sites across the state.

"The way this works is, 100 percent of the power that Stellantis will consume, we'll produce in the form of solar energy and put it on the grid," Norcia said.

"Its 130,000 homes can be covered with their electric needs for what we're going to be able to generate through renewable energy - it's pretty amazing," Stewart said.

DTE says the project will create hundreds of jobs during construction and more than a dozen permanent jobs - but more importantly, it will create cleaner energy and help the environment.

In an age when the auto industry is transitioning to electric vehicles - Stellantis taking another step away from the fossil fuels that create climate change.

"Avoid emitting 670,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, and it's going to reduce our carbon footprint by 50% here across North America and Stellantis," said Stewart.

"Not just great vehicles - a great product," said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. "But now we're going to be doing it making sure they're produced with clean renewable energy and thanks to DTE for making that happen."

"This investment in Michigan's future will help us add some of the largest new solar projects in the state," Norcia said. "And help us transition to a much cleaner energy future."