Nissan Formula E Team opts to offset through innovative ‘Ultra Spirulina’ project

The team joins forces with software company Coral to neutralize its 2022/23 emissions through advanced carbon credit platform

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Formula E Team, through its partnership with UAE-based software company Coral, announces today that it will work with biotech company VAXA Technologies to offset its carbon emissions generated during Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Coral, which specializes in reliably offsetting carbon emissions, has now released its report on the team's total carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) during the 2022/23 campaign of the all-electric series including travel, waste and energy usage at the factory. As part of its commitment to sustainability, and alongside its pledge to reduce the team's emissions, Nissan Formula E Team will offset 100% of its Season 9 CO2e in 2024.

To achieve this, the team is working with Coral to purchase offsets from VAXA Technologies. This innovative biotech company produces Icelandic Ultra Spirulina (IUS) in a verified carbon-negative process, which converts clean energy to food (E2F) by leveraging resources from the adjacent geothermal plant.

Icelandic Ultra Spirulina uses just 0.0001% of the land and relies on 0.015% of the water used in conventional beef production, as evidenced in a recent publication from Cambridge University. The credits purchased by Nissan Formula E Team will contribute towards VAXA's Impact Nutrition ACTION food fortification programs in developing countries across Africa, Asia and South America, working with reputable NGOs to help reduce the gap on those living with nutritional deficiencies. This technological breakthrough project is looking to save more than 100 million tons of CO2e over the next 15 years while taking impact nutrition to those who need it most.

Offsetting Season 9's emissions is the first step in the partnership signed by Nissan Formula E Team and Coral in October 2023. Following that, Coral will also help the team in assessing, monitoring, reducing and offsetting their emissions for Season 10, using their technology which uses a combination of advanced tooling such as AI and blockchain. Coral's platform provides complete transparency and auditability for each high-quality credit that Nissan Formula E Team acquires, ensuring that all its emissions are offset and fully evaluated in accordance with global emissions monitoring standards.

This reinforces Nissan's commitment to carbon neutrality and zero-emissions vehicles by 2050 and its Ambition 2030 strategy, with the electrification mix across the Nissan and INFINITI brands projected to increase to more than 55% globally by the turn of the decade, while creating a global ecosystem that supports sustainable solutions for everyone.

In addition, with its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship confirmed until at least 2026, Nissan Formula E Team was also recently awarded FIA 3 Star Environmental Accreditation for a second year, further highlighting the team's pledge to CO2e reduction.

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: "Since partnering with Coral, we have wanted to be completely transparent about the actions we need to take to minimize the environmental impact of Nissan Formula E Team. Thanks to their technology, we were able to precisely calculate our carbon footprint from Season 9, while we can have absolute confidence that we're offsetting all of our emissions with high-quality credits, investing in a fully verified project through a reliable platform. The VAXA Impact project provides an innovative solution for one of the main contributors to climate change – animal agriculture – and we're delighted to be investing in them. Their work also goes beyond sustainability, as their programs aim to close the gap in nutrition deficiencies to those in developing countries. This marks another great step towards Nissan Formula E Team's carbon neutrality goals."

Daniele Sileri, Founder and Head of Strategy, Coral: "Nissan Formula E Team has been the perfect launch partner for Coral. We are delighted to show the tangible results of our partnership in a matter of weeks, whereby we can help the team offset the entire carbon footprint from Season 9. It is equally rewarding to facilitate this landmark offset with VAXA Impact, which is radically redefining food and nutrition."

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About Nissan in Formula E
Nissan made its all-electric racing debut in Season 5 (2018/19) of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to enter the series. 

In Season 7 (2020/21), Nissan announced its long-term involvement in Formula E and its commitment to the Gen3 era, which will run from Season 9 (2022/23) through to the end of Season 12 (2025/26) of the all-electric racing series. 

In April 2022, Nissan acquired the e.dams race team, with the Japanese automaker taking full ownership of its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. 

In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era. 

For Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers will be Oliver Rowland and Sacha Fenestraz.  

Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers. 

About Coral
Coral is bringing clarity and trust to carbon markets. The Coral platform provides a simple and transparent solution to make environmental responsibility through carbon offsetting actionable by everyone. By ensuring complete transparency in the origin, certification, provenance and verification of each carbon credit and its environmental impact, Coral instils trust in market participants. 

More Information: Coral.Li 

About VAXA Technologies and VAXA Impact Nutrition
VAXA Technologies converts clean energy into food, producing the world most sustainable microalgae rich in Omega-3 and protein. The company is the first to provide hatcheries and fisheries with a year-round supply of fresh, live microalgae that provides higher yields, improves juvenile immune systems, and boosts Omega-3. VAXA Technologies is also creating a new category of protein-rich and Omega-3 products for people, including nutrition supplements, natural colorants, and protein drop-ins for meat substitutes.

 VAXA Impact Nutrition offers consistent year-round supply of high Omega-3 algae, that improve the survival and growth rate of fish larvae, crustaceans and mollusks, resulting in overall improvement of their nutritional composition. VAXA's patented, indoor, controlled and optimized process requires less than 1% of the fresh water, 1% of the land compared to a conventional omega-3 production facility. It is also carbon negative. In addition, the new facility is located at one of the world's largest geothermal power plants in Iceland, Hellisheidi geothermal plant, where it takes advantage of CO2, hot water and electricity from the plant, in a process that is turning waste to value in a sustainable manner.

More Information: Vaxa.life.

About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing. 

All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology. 

The World's greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centers in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.

Contact
Maria De Juana
Head of Communications, Formula E, Nissan Motor Co.
Phone: +33-6 17 36 37 61
mdejuana@nissan-europe.com