Shifting into sustainability mode

An exciting new collaborative project will see Novelis partnering BMW to expand the frontiers of circularity in automobile manufacturing

The growing spotlight on sustainable mobility has spurred several auto-makers to shift from linear process chains to increasingly circular ones. As the world's largest, most efficient, and technologically advanced aluminium recycler, Novelis has helped many auto majors to enhance their use of post-consumer aluminium and make environmentally-friendlier vehicles. Now, a prestigious new collaboration between Novelis and the BMW-led Car2Car project aims to lay the foundations of a circular economy in automotive manufacturing.

The Car2Car initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and is composed of a consortium of partners from industry and science. The Group's objective is to raise the proportion of secondary materials— aluminium, steel, glass, copper and plastic—in the production of new models to 50% while making increasing use of post-consumer materials. Currently, the proportion of secondary materials in BMW's newer vehicles is around the 30% mark.

Novelis is enabling this goal by supplying BMW with aluminium sheets containing between 65%-75% recycled content. The ultimate goal of both companies is to produce an outer skin panel made from 100% recycled aluminium under this project.

"The Car2Car project is another important step toward economically and ecologically sensible circularity in the automotive industry," says Michael Hahne, Vice President, Automotive, Novelis Europe. "The intelligent, efficient reuse of post-consumer material preserves resources, significantly lowers environmental impact, and, at the same time, reduces dependency on raw material imports."

Circularity: the auto sector's next frontier

Discussions around the transport sector's carbon footprint tend to focus more on tailpipe emissions, and less around the emissions associated with vehicle manufacturing. In recent years, though, automakers have begun to emphasize sustainable manufacturing processes, and recycled or renewable materials play a vital role here. In fact, a 2020 report by Accenture Strategy and the World Economic Forum found that adopting material circularity can improve the automotive industry's carbon efficiency by up to 35% by 2030.

Novelis's circularity proposition is built around an advanced technology core—its closed-loop recycling (CLR) system. The CLR system reuses aluminium scrap generated during automobile manufacturing, reforms it into the same grade of metal, and reinserts it into the supply chain for its customers. The process only uses a tiny fraction (5%) of the energy required to produce primary aluminium, making it a vastly more sustainable option.

In addition to reducing the emissions and energy usage associated with primary aluminium, closing the loop secures automakers' supply chains and reduces their recycling and transportation costs. Since aluminium can be recycled infinitely, closed-loop recycling offers tremendous long-term efficiencies across the entire value chain.

The tie-up with BMW is one of Novelis's many collaborations with the automotive sector. In 2013, Novelis established a closed-loop scrap recycling system for Jaguar Land Rover. Featuring a rail service between Germany and the UK, the award-winning system reduced CO2 equivalent emissions by 80% and resulted in $1 million in savings for JLR. The two teams also jointly developed the Novelis Advanz™ 5F-s5754 RC alloy, containing at least 75% recycled content. In time, the alloy could contain 100% recycled content.

A similar CLR system set up for Ford in the United States enables the auto giant to recycle and reuse over 90% of scrap: enough to produce 30,000 truck bodies of its popular F-150 trucks every month. Similar tie-ups have followed with Audi, Volvo and Nissan.

Revving up for the future

Given the huge scope and opportunity for Novelis to support the global automotive sector's need for recycled aluminium, the company is expanding its capacity in mission mode. Two major investments, in particular, were announced in 2022.

The first was a $365 million recycling centre in Guthrie, Kentucky (US) that will serve Novelis's automotive customers. Featuring advanced aluminium shredding and sorting technology, the centre will reduce CO2 emissions by over a million tonnes a year. The second venture is a $50 million recycling centre in Ulsan, South Korea. This centre is being built by Novelis in joint venture with Kobe Steel, and will meet the global demand for sustainable, low-carbon aluminium sheet for can, automotive and high-end specialty products. Once operational, the centre will slash CO2 emissions by an estimated 420,000 tonnes a year.

The global transport sector, which accounts for a significant share of the world's CO2 emissions, is at an inflection point today. Making a rapid shift towards sustainability will contribute to happier environmental and social outcomes for our pollution-hit cities. And Novelis is proudly supporting this transition with its CLR technology, state-of-the-art global recycling centres, and its vast experience of successfully partnering automotive companies' circularity ambitions.