Stellantis plans JV to boost 'end of life' vehicle recycling

Stellantis will form a joint venture with the recycling company Galloo to manage reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of "end of life” vehicles, the automaker said.

The two companies said Monday they had signed a memorandum of understanding to set up the venture, expected to be launched late this year. It will focus on Belgium, France and Luxembourg, and then expand across Europe.

Customers could drop off their vehicles to a dismantling center -- a so-called "take back” service -- and parts would either be resold, refurbished or recycled, said Alison Jones, senior vice president global circular economy at Stellantis. 

One of the centers will be at the Mirafiori factory site in Turin, Italy, although Jones said a date for the start of the service in Italy has not yet been determined.

Stellantis said last autumn that it would increase the recycled material content in its vehicles, as well as seek to respond to growing demand -- and prices -- for recycled materials.

The process would also include EV batteries, Jones said, although she noted that most end-of-life vehicles now are gasoline and diesel.

Stellantis already offers take-back services, but the agreement with Galloo will make the service more visible and help to create a database, she said.

Jones said there were three main reasons to set up the joint venture: Stellantis can be part of the recycle/refurbish/reuse value chain; it could give the automaker access to materials that could become scarce such as copper; and it helps Stellantis meet coming requirements in countries such as France that place more responsibility on automakers to "take back” vehicles at the end of their lives.

It also helps contribute to Stellantis’ net-zero carbon emissions goals, Jones said.

"The technology is changing as to what can be recycled,” she said, and more parts are being designed with recycling in mind. At the same time, Stellantis is trying to extend the life of its vehicles as long as possible, she said.

"You want to make sure that when you take that material [out of the car], you are getting maximum value out of it,” she said.

Stellantis is expecting to generate 2 billion euros in revenue by 2030 from "circular economy” activities. The Galloo joint venture will contribute to increasing recycling revenues tenfold and parts revenues fourfold by then, Stellantis said, as well as help the automaker reach 40 percent recycled materials in new vehicles by 2030. Jones would not give specific figures for recycling and parts revenue targets.

Galloo, founded in 1939, has 42 subsidiaries in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It manages the recovery, transformation and re-use of metals and some types of plastics. 
 
Other automakers are ramping up their recycling and reuse efforts. Renault Group is in the process of converting its factory in Flins, France, to a circular economy center called Refactory. Activities there include used-car reconditioning, parts refurbishment, retraining and "second life” uses for EV batteries, among others. 

Renault expects to generate an additional 1 billion euros per year from such activities by 2030. A second Refactory is planned for a transmission plant in Seville, Spain.

Audi’s MaterialLoop project is testing the viability of using materials from end of life vehicles to create components for new cars.