Mercedes-Benz takes firm grip of circularity

From scrap tyres to door handles – Mercedes-Benz takes firm grip of circularity

•   Mercedes-Benz tackles circularity with BASF and start-up Pyrum Innovations AG
•   Industry first: chemical recycling enables circular manufacture of virgin-quality plastics fortechnically demanding and safety-critical Mercedes-Benz vehicle components
•   Pyrolysis oil from scrap tyres and certified biomethane replace raw fossil resources in line with mass balance approach
•   First components to enter series production this year as bow door handles for S-Class and EQE
  

  
  Mercedes-Benz S-Class; exterior: high-tech silver; interior: leather exclusive silver grey/black

  “On our journey to an all-electric future, we are rethinking the composition of all the materials in our vehicles. Every action counts when it comes to conserving resources. Through close collaboration with our supplier network, we are replacing raw fossil resources with pyrolysis oil made in part from recycled scrap tyres supplied by Mercedes-Benz. Components featuring this technology will enter series production in a number of our models as soon as this year. We anticipate being able to chemically recycle several hundred tonnes of scrap tyres from Mercedes-Benz vehicles every year and use the resulting plastic in our new vehicles. Together with our partners, we are closing the materials loop and actively driving the development of innovative recycling processes,” says Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, responsible for Development and Procurement. Mercedes-Benz AG is pursuing the goal of increasingly decoupling resource consumption from growth in production output. The company is striving to increase the proportion of recycled materials in its car fleet to an average of 40 percent by 2030.

  

  From scrap tyres to door handles – Mercedes-Benz takes firm grip of circularity.

  Mercedes-Benz is working with a number of partners in order to achieve a circular approach to scrap tyres. One route takes advantage of BASF’s chemical recycling process. The starting point is pyrolysis oil generated from used tyres by pyrolysis company Pyrum Innovations AG. BASF combines this with biomethane from agricultural waste. Using both of these materials together, it is possible to create a virgin-quality plastic that is certified in accordance with the so-called mass balance approach. An independent certification confirms that the supplier replaced the quantity of fossil resources necessary for the final product with renewable resources and pyrolysis oil from scrap tyres. The cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and BASF marks the first use of pyrolysis oil from scrap tyres combined with biomethane.