Recycling old tyres into new car parts

By OEM Update Editorial July 16, 2024 6:36 pm

Covestro, Neste, and Borealis partner to recycle discarded tyres by liquifying them via chemical recycling and processing them into base chemicals and high-purity polycarbonates.

Neste, Borealis, and Covestro have signed a project agreement to enable the recycling of discarded tyres into high-quality plastics for automotive applications. The collaboration aims to drive circularity in plastics value chains and the automotive industry. When no longer fit for use, tyres are liquefied using chemical recycling and then processed into base chemicals and further into polycarbonates of high purity. These can then be used in various automotive applications, from parts of headlamps to radiator grilles.

“Circularity requires cooperation, and this cooperation with our partners Neste and Borealis is a testament to the possibilities at our disposal. We are creating options to turn old tyres into new car parts again. With that, we are supporting our automotive customers and addressing an increasingly prominent question discussed across the value chain: How to match high-performance materials with recycled content?” says Guido Naberfeld, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Market Development Mobility at Covestro.

Neste turns liquefied discarded tyres into a high-quality raw material for polymer and chemical manufacturing and supplies it to Borealis. Borealis then processes the Neste-produced raw material into the base chemicals phenol and acetone supplied to Covestro. Covestro can use these materials to make polycarbonate. The share of recycled content is attributed to the mass balancing approach to the final products using ISCC Plus certification.

The first products based on the collaboration are already available, as each party has manufactured the first batch of their respective contribution to the project. Aside from polycarbonates, the project partners may also consider polyurethanes as a possible end product, which could also find its way into parts of a car’s interior. The companies emphasise that the potential to scale up these developments should be considered when setting ambitious targets for future EU regulations, such as the End of Life Vehicles Regulation.

“We are demonstrating the importance of value chain cooperation in giving new value to waste. In collaboration with Neste, we are proud that Borealis can play a role in this project, providing more sustainable solutions for polymer applications for Covestro and its customers,” says Thomas Van De Velde, Senior Vice President of Base Chemicals at Borealis. 

Jeroen Verhoeven, Vice President of Value Chain Development for Polymers and Chemicals at Neste, adds, “This project can serve as a blueprint for establishing circularity of plastics in cars. It shows how low-quality waste materials can be turned into very high-quality plastics. This is good news for the polymers, automotive industries, and environment.”