Novelis and thyssenkrupp Materials Services seek to advance the circular economy in the automotive industry with the joint development of the "Automotive Circularity Platform". The development of the new digital hub is intended to set important standards for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles. The open platform is not only intended to digitise the market for secondary materials from end-of-life vehicles, but also offers easy access to high-quality recycling materials in larger quantities. At the same time, the two companies want to increase transparency by creating an ecosystem for the end-of-life vehicle value chain. In the first step, a prototype will be developed for comprehensive testing and evaluation purposes.

Aluminium recycling of production scrap in a closed loop has already become a best sustainability practice in the automotive industry in recent years – but the loop for end-of-life vehicles has yet to be closed. The partnership between Novelis and thyssenkrupp Materials Services is thus a significant step towards achieving a circular economy and reducing CO2 emissions.

The Automotive Circularity Platform (ACP) is designed as a digital market that connects stakeholders along the end-of-life vehicle value chain and helps automotive suppliers recover and recycle aluminium and other materials such as steel, plastics, glass or rubber.

"In creating an open, accessible trading platform for end-of-life materials, the ACP is an important step for companies that want to make broader and deeper commitments to sustainability and the circular economy. The ACP will not only improve the circular economy through optimised material flow, thus providing access to greater quantities of high quality recycled materials while minimising waste to landfills, but also provide transparent and trusted networking for all stakeholders to develop and apply their own value-generating recycling processes," explains Michael Hahne, Vice President and General Manager Automotive, Novelis Europe.

Currently, internal combustion engines can account for up to 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions during the lifetime of vehicles. However, research suggests that due to the growing use of electric vehicles, emissions from the production of materials could potentially account for 60 per cent of total vehicle lifetime emissions by 2040. Therefore, focusing on emissions reduction in relation to increasing efficiency along the supply chain and during manufacturing takes a bit of a back seat when it comes to the main goals of decarbonisation. A circular ecosystem in which all actors involved work closely together will play a crucial role in the automotive industry to achieve its climate goals.

For aluminium in particular, recycling is the epitome of sustainable practices, as it reduces CO2 emissions by about 95 per cent compared to the more energy-intensive requirements of primary production. Aluminium is also infinitely recyclable without losing quality and properties such as strength, lightness, resistance and malleability. Therefore, the numerous advantages of aluminium are contributing more and more to its increasing use in all industries that want to achieve more sustainability.

Original source Novelis