Mercedes-Benz joins hands with BASF to realize waste tire recycling through chemical recycling

Latest News: Recently, Mercedes-Benz has made new progress in carbon reduction and emission reduction! It is working with BASF, Pyrum
Innovations collaborated to recycle end-of-life tires using BASF’s chemical recycling process.

“By working closely with our suppliers, we are replacing virgin fossil resources with pyrolysis oils, which are partly derived from recycled waste tires supplied by Mercedes-Benz,” said Member of the Management Board of Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for Markus, CTO of Development and Procurement
Schäfer said. Parts using the technology will enter Mercedes-Benz series production as soon as this year, he said.

According to reports, the technology uses pyrolysis company Pyrum Innovations
AG’s pyrolysis oil extracted from used tires. BASF combines it with biomethane from agricultural waste to create a recycled material that is comparable in quality to virgin plastic. This recycled plastic can be certified according to the mass balance method.

The third-party certifier said the supplier replaced the petrochemical resources needed for the finished product with renewable resources and waste tire pyrolysis oil. The collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and BASF marks the first time that it has become possible to combine pyrolysis oil from waste tires with biomethane.

The recycling of secondary materials not only reduces the use of fossil resources, but also reduces the carbon footprint of the resulting plastics. This innovative recycled plastic has the same properties as plastic produced from petroleum. This enables it to be quickly applied to production as a “one-stop” solution.

At the same time, it meets the high quality requirements of Mercedes-Benz, especially in terms of paintability and crash safety. These properties mean that the process has the potential to replace a large number of vehicle components made from virgin plastic.

This year, the EQE and S-Class will be the first Mercedes-Benz models to use recycled plastic made from the above scheme to produce bow-shaped door handles. The S-Class will also feature crash absorbers featuring this combination of raw materials. As part of the front-end structure, in a frontal collision, the accessory distributes the forces acting on the other vehicle more evenly. Upcoming models like the EQE
The SUV, too, will feature bow-shaped door handles made of this innovative plastic.

Mercedes says the use of this more sustainable recycled material will be gradually increased in the future, combined with the use of chemical recycling in conjunction with a biomass balance approach, for further plastic vehicle components. Mercedes is working to increase the use of recycled materials in its cars to 40 percent by 2030.