Page 154 - CW E-Magazine (7-5-2024)

News from Abroad

AUTOMOTIVE PLASTICS
Covestro collaborates with automotive partners

on car-to-car plastic recycling

With increasing global environmen-
tal awareness and stricter regulatory
requirements, the automotive indus-
try is realizing the necessity of plastic
recycling for sustainable development. In
response, materials manufacturer Covestro,
along with partners from the automotive
value chain, is spearheading the concept
of car-to-car closed-loop plastics recy-
cling, which is emerging as a promising
solution to tackle the challenges of
plastic waste management in the sector.

Under a joint pilot program initia-
ted by German federal enterprise GIZ
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internatio- toward a more climate-neutral and sus- applications, saving resources and reduc-
nale Zusammenarbeit), Covestro and tainable future,” said Ms. Lily Wang, ing carbon emissions. This could offer
partners will collaborate to establish Global Head of the Engineering Plas- urgently needed long-term solutions for
closed-loop pathways for high-value tics Business Entity at Covestro. the automotive manufacturing industry,
plastics from end-of-life vehicles which seeks high-quality PCR materials
(ELVs). The goal is to create an effi- Polycarbonate recycling that are compliant and high-performance
cient and sustainable automotive plas- As part of the pilot programme, a team amid increasingly stringent regulations.
tic recycling system, advancing the of professionals will explore methods For example, in 2023, the European
more sustainable “transformation of the to recycle and process waste poly- Commission proposed a new regulation
industry”. carbonate components, such as end-of- to enhance the circularity of the auto-
life car headlights, into post-consumer motive sector, mandating that 25% of the
The pilot program was announced recycled (PCR) polycarbonates. The plastics used in a new vehicle must come
at Covestro’s booth during the CHI- recycled materials will then be reused from recycling, of which 25% must be
NAPLAS 2024 international trade fair for various interior and exterior vehicle recycled from end-of-life vehicles.
in Shanghai. Notable partners include
leading automotive brand owners such UNCERTAIN FUTURE
as NIO of China and Volkswagen,
Chinese recycling company GEM, and Australian petchem company Qenos
third-party certification bodies like
TÜV Rheinland. goes into voluntary administration
“By leveraging our collective Qenos, the Australia-based manu- Logos formed a new company, LAOP
strengths and resources, we are con- facturer of ethylene and polyethylene, Bidco, in December last year as the
fident in our ability to build a closed- has been placed into voluntary admini- special purpose vehicle to take owner-
loop for automotive plastics recycling, stration by its new owners. ship of Qenos, and it is this company
thereby reducing waste and carbon that has placed Qenos in administra-
emissions at the source while improv- Qenos’ holding company, China- tion. The administrators will now com-
ing resource use efficiency. Through Chem, entered into an agreement with mence discussions with key partners to
this joint program, we aim to expedite property and infrastructure developer determine the short-term future of the
the automotive industry’s transition Logos, to purchase the Qenos sites. Altona, Victoria plant.

154 Chemical Weekly May 7, 2024

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