TROY, MI—The 2024 Polestar 2 recently received the Altair Enlighten Award for sustainability and lightweighting advancements. The annual awards program, sponsored by Altair and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), also honored the Nikola Tre FCEV truck and the Lucid Air sedan.

The Polestar 2 features next-generation electric motors, quicker charging, greater efficiency and a range of up to 654 kilometers. Despite the significant increases to performance, range and efficiency, the vehicle also boasts a reduced carbon footprint, with some versions now producing up to 3 tons less carbon dioxide compared to the launch version released in 2020. In addition, Polestar uses blockchain technology within its supply chain to expand raw material traceability and address social and environmental issues.

When developing the fuel cell powered Tre FCEV Class-8 truck, Nikola engineers emphasized recycling—100 percent of scrap produced in the production of pre-consumer batteries was recycled or reused. In addition, 100 percent of hazardous waste produced during production was safely recycled. Nikola also implemented a circular reuse program for all battery pallets, and the vehicle manufacturing process consumed no water.

Lucid Motors was named runner up in the 2023 Altair Enlighten Award. Its Lucid Air sedan was honored for breaking records for range, charging speeds, aerodynamics and performance. The vehicle features in-house developed technology that can add 300 miles of range in just 22 minutes of charge. It also boasts an industry-leading aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.197, and includes trims with an EPA-estimated range of up to 516 miles and mileage efficiency of 4.6 miles per kilowatt-hour.

“The Altair Enlighten Award…showcases how the automotive industry’s leading minds—from the biggest names to its newest startups—are applying advanced technologies and responsible AI to create a better, greener industry,” says James Scapa, CEO of Altair. “Lightweighting, optimization and sustainability are more important than ever in the modern automotive industry. Altair is proud to honor the innovations that will drive the future of a sustainable industry.”

“As always, we’re honored to be presenting the Enlighten Award together with Altair, and we look forward to seeing what innovations this year’s submissions bring as we work toward a more sustainable automotive ecosystem,” adds Alan Amici, president and CEO of CAR.