Old car parts to be used in the production of new Audis

Recycled steel to be used in up to 15,000 inner door parts for the Audi A4

Old car parts to be used in the production of new Audis

Until now, very few of the materials used in the production of new vehicles have been recovered from old cars. Audi is seeking to change that with its MaterialLoop project.

As part of the project, Audi will take secondary materials from end-of-life vehicles, such as steel, aluminium, plastic and glass, and re-use them in new cars. The German company has been working with 15 partners from the research, recycling and supplier sectors to minimise the loss in quality in materials resulting from the recycling process.

In an initial trial, six steel coils made from 12 percent secondary MaterialLoop materials matched Audi’s standards for quality. It says it will use the coils to produce up to 15,000 inner door parts for the Audi A4.

Elsewhere, car windows that are beyond repair are melted down and turned into new plate glass for the automotive industry. Indeed, it is being used in the production of the Q4 e-tron.

Audi and plastics manufacturer LyondellBasell have also established a process to re-use automotive plastic waste for the production of the Q8 e-tron.

Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said: ”The MaterialLoop project underscores our ambitious vision to operate a highly efficient circular economy concept for end-of-life vehicles. It is our goal to recover as many materials as possible at a high level of quality and reuse them in production.

”This will save valuable primary materials and lower the products’ ecological footprint. Simultaneously, direct access to secondary materials can contribute to increased security of supply. Raw materials would no longer have to be extracted.”

Johanna Klewitz, head of supply chain sustainability at Audi, added: “Our emphasis on cycles within the industry enables us to use our products and the materials they’re made from for as long as possible. Our vision is to rely less on secondary materials from other industries in the future.”

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