Putting automotive scrap back into motion

The automotive sector has a lot of work to do to create a circular vehicle, according to BMW. The main issue is considering recycling rates when scrap comes from completely different applications.

‘About 85% of recycled metal used in car production comes from other applications – it’s mixed scrap,’ says Hilke Schaer, who supervises BMW’s ambitious Car2Car recycling project. ‘Just 15% comes from recycled cars. It’s high time we raised the stakes.’

Even so, BMW’s latest models use 30% recycled metal from the automotive sector, she told delegates at the recent E-waste World Expo in Frankfurt.

Complex mission

Vehicles typically comprise 38-49% steel, 17-19% polymers, 15-20% aluminium, 3% glass, up to 4% copper and at least 14% other materials. More automotive scrap across material categories needs to be reintroduced into the fleet of the future, Schaer insists.

BWM wants to do its part with the Car2Car consortium which was launched in 2023 and received EUR 6.5 million from the EU. The R&D initiative looks to a 50% input rate of automotive scrap by December 2025 with an ultimate goal of 100%.

BMW has provided more than 500 vehicles for testing, from Minis to Rolls-Royces, including traditional, plug-in hybrid, and electric cars. Industry partners include Novelis, Aurubis and Thyssenkrupp.

‘To get to 50%, let alone 100%, is still a big leap from where we are today,’ Schaer remarks. ‘Creating a fully circular car is a complex mission but I believe we can realise this together. The hard work will be worth it.’

Half time

Production challenges include composite components that disrupt recycling processes. Schaer think intelligent sorting systems could separate materials and shredding by car models to maximise material returns.

Her team is developing AI-based sensor technology and spectroscopic methods to identify different steel and aluminium alloys, leading to higher purity raw materials.

‘This increases the volume of scrap suitable for the production of new cars while also reducing the number of processing steps,’ Schaer explains. This benefit applies to all materials.

Looking ahead, she says: ‘We have a lot of testing left to do. Key learnings are still at half time.’