Sandvik unveils electric vehicle made of ‘nothing’

Global engineering group Sandvik, in collaboration with creative agency BBDO Nordics, has launched eNimon, a full-scale electric vehicle made entirely without metals or minerals sourced from mining. The installation is currently on display at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm.

The project aims to highlight the dependence of electrification on mined resources. More than 90 percent of a typical electric vehicle’s components are derived from mining, with EVs requiring six times more mineral inputs than conventional vehicles. By removing lithium, copper, nickel, and cobalt, eNimon is rendered a non-functional, transparent shell that cannot move or operate, emphasizing the challenges the green transition faces without mining.

Isaac Bonnier, art director at BBDO Nordics: "We wanted to create an electric car that lacks everything that makes an electric car possible. Building a full-scale ‘nothing’ was a real challenge – but that’s exactly the point. eNimon visualizes how impossible the green transition becomes if we forget where its materials actually come from."

Engineering storytelling and awareness

The installation continues Sandvik’s approach of using engineering to communicate complex issues. In 2022, the company gained international attention with the Impossible Statue, a project combining AI and advanced engineering to create a sculpture representing four of history’s most iconic artists. That project achieved widespread media coverage and industry awards.

With eNimon, Sandvik uses physical engineering as a storytelling tool to illustrate what the absence of mined materials would mean for the green transition, rather than showcasing what mining enables.

www.sandvik.com

www.bbdonordics.com

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