Technological watch

TotalEnergies, Plastic Omnium Partner to Accelerate Recycled PP Development for Auto Sector

Materials supplier TotalEnergies and Tier 1 Plastic Omnium have signed a strategic partnership to design and develop new plastic materials made from recycled polypropylene (PP) that meet the demanding aesthetic and safety standards of the automotive industry.

TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium will pool their innovation and engineering resources to design new types of recycled materials that offer enhanced performance and are better for the environment while providing deliverable responses to the challenges raised by end-of-life plastics. These new materials, containing 20 to 100% recycled materials sourced from industrial and domestic waste streams, reportedly will reduce CO2 impact by as much as six times compared with virgin materials.

The use of plastics in automotive bodywork, for instance, plays a key role in cutting the automotive industry’s carbon emissions. It improves aerodynamic performance and reduces the overall weight of vehicles, helping in turn to cut the amount of fuel used by internal combustion engines and increase the autonomy of electric vehicles.

Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers, at TotalEnergies said: “This partnership with Plastic Omnium is a great example of collaboration and innovation to develop ever-higher and environmentally friendly recycled plastic materials that help our OEM and vehicle manufacturer customers to reduce their carbon footprints. This project will also contribute to addressing the challenge of the circular economy and to our ambition of producing 30% recycled and renewable polymers by 2030.”

Stéphane Noël, President and CEO of Plastic Omnium Intelligent Exterior Systems, added: “Recycling plastic materials is a challenge to us as manufacturers, and a vital issue for our planet. This exciting partnership paves the way to providing responses that are better integrated and more environmentally friendly, reflecting our customers’ and suppliers’ carbon neutrality goals. This is absolutely central to a strategic partnership that seeks to support the far-reaching transformation the industry is currently undergoing."

Publication date: 15/12/2021

Plastics Today

This project has been co-funded with the support of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union [LIFE17 ENV/ES/000438] Life programme

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Last update: 2022-01-31