Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced on March 2, 2023, that it has commenced the use of green aluminum in its production process. February 2023 marked the first time that a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer used this type of “green” material.
There are also plans from Yamaha to gradually expand its use of the material in more models moving forward. More on green aluminum, the material is refined using renewable energy sources, leaving less of a carbon footprint. In the press release, Yamaha states that 12 to 31 percent of the total vehicle weight is made out of aluminum, and the application of the material to the production process will contribute to a sizable reduction in the brand’s carbon footprint.
Yamaha’s already active in its efforts to go green. The brand has already pushed for the use of recycled aluminum, with the report stating that Yamaha’s up to 80 percent usage with the reused resource. Paired with the additional use of green aluminum, Yamaha is poised to chase down that extra 20 percent, which accounts for parts that cannot use recycled aluminum as part of the production process.
The first step in Team Blue’s plan to incorporate the use of green aluminum in its motorcycles will be to utilize the material for certain parts in its large-displacement and off-road competition motorcycles. Pictured above, we see that the Yamaha MT-09 will be part of the change with the models’ lower triple clamp, front wheel, rear wheel, and swingarm, to be cast from the green aluminum.
So long as the supply chain and volumes allow, Yamaha will continue to expand on its use of green aluminum for the rest of the models in its lineup.
Yamaha has a plan for 2050 (Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050), whose goal is to achieve carbon neutrality throughout all of its business activities—including its entire supply chain—by 2050. The company has set out an ambitious goal of switching to 100 percent sustainable materials by the end of the plan’s timeframe. Yamaha will not only be continuing to use green aluminum, but it will also dive into other green raw materials like plant-derived resins, developing recyclable polypropylene, and more.
