Envalior and SECARA have teamed up to create circular PA6 materials for automotive uses, utilizing post-consumer recycled content from end-of-life vehicles. The collaboration is centered around SECARA’s innovative catalytic depolymerization technology, which effectively recovers high-quality caprolactam from mixed plastic waste. This initiative will be crucial for OEMs and suppliers aiming to meet the forthcoming EU End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) recycled-content regulations.
Key Aspects:
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Collaboration Overview:
- Envalior, a leader in sustainable engineering materials, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SECARA, a technology scale-up focused on closed-loop polymer recycling.
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Regulatory Compliance:
- The EU’s recently adopted End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR) mandates that, within six years, at least 15% of the plastic in new vehicles must be sourced from recycled materials, increasing to 25% after a decade. 20% of this recycled content should come from closed-loop sources.
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Technical Innovations:
- SECARA’s process addresses challenges in recycling mixed waste streams containing additives and contaminants, converting them into monomers of high purity. This allows existing polymerization processes to adopt these materials without significant modifications.
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Focus on Caprolactam:
- Initial efforts concentrate on producing caprolactam derived from recycled materials to replicate the performance of virgin PA6, assisting in scaling up circular PA6 adoption in the automotive sector.
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Sustainability Goals:
- This partnership aligns with Envalior’s sustainability strategy, aiming to create efficient solutions for ELVR compliance while maintaining performance standards.
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Industry Engagement:
- The collaboration will be showcased at the upcoming Fakuma 2026 trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
About the Companies:
- Envalior: Established in 2023 from the merger of Lanxess Performance Materials and DSM Engineering Materials, Envalior specializes in sustainable engineering materials with a strong market presence.
- SECARA: Focused on advanced recycling processes for technical polymers, SECARA converts contaminated plastic waste into valuable monomers while also recovering secondary raw materials.
This collaboration represents a significant step towards enhanced sustainability in the automotive industry, combining advanced recycling techniques with regulatory compliance initiatives.
