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Daimler Group plans its own recycling plant

At an industry conference hosted by Handelsblatt, CEO Ola Källenius announced that their own recycling plant will secure valuable raw materials and recycle them anew.

Board member Ola Källenius is planning a dedicated recycling plant. | Photo: Daimler
Board member Ola Källenius is planning a dedicated recycling plant. | Photo: Daimler
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Gregor Soller

In the executive suites, it is clear that raw materials will no longer be obtainable in any quantity at comparatively favorable prices in the future. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse already hinted at this with reference to the BMW i Circular study. At Daimler, or rather Mercedes-Benz, they think similarly, as Källenius explained:

“We will also build our own recycling plant so that we can master and also use this technology.”

In the future, much more recycled material will be used

According to Källenius, Daimler plans to gradually increase the proportion of recycled parts in its cars. He explicitly mentioned battery cells in this context. For electric cars, it should be possible to reuse or recycle them. Daimler is working in this area with partners with whom "great progress" has recently been made.

Already in the summer, Daimler pivoted more towards battery electric vehicles and was the only major German manufacturer to sign the exit from combustion engines in Glasgow. By 2025, around 50 percent of new car sales with the star are to be achieved with fully electric or plug-in cars. By the end of the decade, they aim to go fully electric wherever “market conditions allow.” This also includes building out cell production.

Ambitious also for suppliers: “Ambition 2039”

With the “Ambition 2039” strategy, Daimler aims to implement a completely CO2-neutral new car fleet and production in less than 20 years. Suppliers will also be held accountable in this process. Climate neutrality will be embedded in contract conditions, and signing a so-called “Ambition Letter” will become a key criterion for awarding contracts. For instance, Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement and Supplier Quality, Mercedes-Benz Cars, explained this at the Automotive Production Summit 2020.

In plain language: From 2039 onwards, only production materials that are CO2-neutral at all stages of the value chain will be allowed to pass through the factory gates of Mercedes-Benz. If a supplier does not sign the Ambition Letter, they will not be considered for new contracts. Progress will be tracked via a tracking system to monitor how CO2 emissions reduce over time.

What does that mean?

Raw materials are becoming scarce and therefore expensive. And environmental problems are increasing – no wonder that by now all manufacturers are pushing and focusing on the issue of raw material cycles, which benefits purchasing, the environment, and customers.

Translated automatically from German.
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