Porsche successfully completes joint recycling pilot project

Porsche AG and BASF SE, in cooperation with technology partner BEST Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH, have successfully completed a joint pilot project for the chemical recycling of mixed waste from end-of-life vehicles.

The project demonstrates the recyclability of high-performance plastics contained in the automotive shredder residue, which is a mixture of shredded parts such as foams, plastics, films, and paint particles mainly from end-of-life vehicles. Currently, the complex mixture of a variety of materials can only be thermally recovered.

The pilot project serves to evaluate the potential of automotive shredder residue as a future source of recyclate

Gasification is a form of chemical recycling that can be used to convert mixed waste streams into valuable new raw materials. In the future, it could be an alternative to the current thermal recovery process and complement Porsche's circular economy strategy. Chemical recycling enables the processing of plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled for technical, economic, or ecological reasons.

The pilot project serves to evaluate the potential of automotive shredder residue as a future source of recyclate. The completed trial used a recycling process that, for the first time, completely dispenses with fossil-based input and instead uses bio-based raw materials - such as wood chips - in addition to automotive waste. Advanced gasification technology is used to convert plastic waste into synthesis gas at high temperatures.

As part of the pilot project, the recycled material was used for new steering wheels

Within the BASF production network that integrates this synthesis gas, new plastic is produced for component manufacturers - a so-called polyurethane formulation. As part of the pilot project, the formulation was used for new steering wheels. The recycled raw material was attributed to the new plastic using a mass balance approach.

The raw materials produced from gasification are of comparable quality to conventional raw materials. The resulting products meet the requirements for high-performance plastics and can therefore also be used in safety-relevant components.