German automotive major the BMW Group and its consortium partners have concluded the Car2Car research project, demonstrating that high-quality material recovery from end-of-life vehicles is technically feasible for industrial automotive applications.

Under expanded processing and sorting conditions, the consortium increased the percentage of recoverable materials from 6 percent to 51 percent across five focus material groups.

The project evaluated recovery paths for steel, aluminium, copper, plastics and glass. Under optimised processing routes, the recovery rate for steel rose from 1 percent to 81 percent, aluminium increased from 23 percent to 52 percent and copper grew from 48 percent to 68 percent. The improvements were achieved through pre-sorting, modified shredding processes, classification, sensor-based sorting and alloy separation.

Alexander Efthimiou, Senior Vice President Business Development, BMW Group, said, “The circular economy is an integral part of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy. Car2Car shows that its full potential can be realised when the entire value chain is optimised. Together with our partners, we are using the project findings to develop new process and business models that combine environmental and economic benefits, and advance the transition towards a circular automotive industry.”

To address copper contamination that prevents scrap steel from being reused in automotive flat steel, the project introduced a targeted sorting process for which a patent application has been filed. Steel coils produced through this method were tested at BMW Group Plant Leipzig, where over 100,000 series parts were manufactured and installed in vehicles.

Hilke Schaer, Car2Car project manager, BMW Group, said, “With Car2Car, we wanted to understand under which conditions materials from end-of-life vehicles can be reused in new cars. The project has shown the potential in current material streams from end-of-life vehicles that have not yet been optimised for high-quality material loops. The most significant progress was seen with steel: We were able to demonstrate that high-quality flat steel for automotive applications can be produced from end-of-life vehicle scrap. In the field test at BMW Group Plant Leipzig, more than 100,000 series parts were produced using this steel and installed in vehicles – making the project’s results tangible.”

While metal recycling yielded positive results, the consortium noted that technological challenges remain for plastics and glass due to material varieties and complex composite structures. Large-scale implementation across the industry will require process chains, additional infrastructure investments and regulatory frameworks aligned with the European ELV Regulation.

The consortium comprised BMW AG, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, Technical University of Munich, Scholz Recycling, STEINERT UniSort, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, Aurubis, Novelis Germany, OETINGER Aluminium and Pilkington Automotive Germany.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

French tier 1 supplier Valeo and open science research lab KE:SAI have launched a joint research collaboration to develop a generalist artificial intelligence (AI) driving system for autonomous vehicles. The partnership plans to publish models, code, weights and datasets as open-source resources.

The initiative brings together artificial intelligence teams from valeo.ai in Paris and the KE:SAI founding team in Tübingen, Germany. The collaboration focuses on training a unified AI model capable of operating across different vehicle platforms, sensor configurations and geographic environments. Initial development will utilise large-scale real-world driving data before integrating reinforcement learning within simulated environments to address rare driving scenarios.

KE:SAI was co-founded by research organisation Kyutai and the ELLIS Institute Tübingen. By making the underlying code, benchmarks and model weights accessible, the initiative aims to provide automakers, component suppliers and academic laboratories with a standardised reference system for autonomous driving research and development.

Marc Vrecko, CEO, Valeo Brain, said, "This open-science collaboration with KE:SAI marks a strategic milestone for Valeo and the broader European automotive ecosystem. By combining our deep industrial and technological expertise in autonomous driving with world-class open-source research, we are establishing a shared foundation to accelerate the development of physical AI and democratize next-generation self-driving technologies."

Andreas Geiger, CEO, KE:SAI, said, "For language models, open source compressed years of progress into months, yet frontier physical AI is still largely closed. Valeo shares our belief that open foundations create more innovation than any closed system ever could. Everything we develop will be open. Every step forward is a step forward for everyone."

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with industry partners, have published a study in Nature Communications demonstrating that reconfigurable battery pack architectures can extend electric vehicle battery operational life by more than 20 percent under specific conditions.

In conventional electric vehicle battery packs, cells are wired in a fixed series configuration, meaning the weakest cell dictates the overall capacity, performance and lifespan of the entire pack. The architecture evaluated by the Chalmers engineering team uses integrated electronic switches and a centralised battery management system to monitor individual cells or cell groups. When a cell experiences accelerated degradation or reduced capacity, the system bypasses the degraded unit while electric current continues to flow through the remaining functional cells.

Albert Skegro, a PhD student at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, said, "They must all move at the pace of the slowest person and stop when that person stops, regardless of how much energy the others have left. With the architecture we have modelled, the battery can instead bypass the cell that is causing problems and continue using the remaining cells."

Changfu Zou, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, said, "Reconfiguration is not an on-or-off choice. It is a spectrum. Where a manufacturer chooses to position itself on that spectrum determines how much of the potential benefit can be realised."

In a representative modelling scenario featuring an 80 kWh battery pack driven 12,000 kilometres annually over an 18.8-year vehicle lifespan, the reconfigurable system deferred battery replacement by approximately 14 months. The researchers noted that the technology yields the highest performance gains in high-voltage vehicles, including 400-volt and 800-volt electric passenger cars and commercial trucks, where higher cell counts in series increase the statistical probability of individual cell variance.

A techno-economic analysis included in the study determined that implementing cell-level switching hardware increases initial pack production costs by approximately nine per cent based on prototype-scale volumes of 1,000 units. The researchers identified an economic break-even threshold at a 12 percent cost increase, noting that volume manufacturing would lower component costs and increase financial viability for fleet operators and private owners. While prototype applications such as Volvo Cars' SmartCell concept and experimental road vehicles exist, mass-production vehicles using reconfigurable battery packs are yet to enter the commercial market.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Jakson Green Vehicles has selected Dassault Systèmes’ cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform to manage the design and development of its electric vehicles.

The implementation establishes a collaborative engineering framework to maintain digital continuity across the product development lifecycle. By connecting internal teams and external suppliers, the platform automates workflows, standardises component libraries and manages engineering change requests during early-stage product design. Virtual twin capabilities allow the vehicle manufacturer to conduct virtual validation testing to resolve structural and systems design issues prior to physical manufacturing.

Deepak Thakur, CEO, Jakson Green Vehicles, said, "Using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Platform enables us to apply a collaborative approach and re-engineer our product lifecycle from the ground up. Through this transition from legacy environments to a unified digital thread, it enables strong R&D to achieve twin objectives; accelerated time-to-market and mitigated development costs. This partnership is helping us to transform the early-stage innovation and product design processes."

Deepak NG, Managing Director – India, Dassault Systèmes, said, "As India continues its dynamic growth trajectory, virtual twin technology serves as a powerful catalyst for sustainable innovation, empowering industries to rethink how they design, produce and operate."

The software adoption forms part of Jakson Green Vehicles' plan to build urban zero-emission mobility vehicles and infrastructure across India.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

UK-headquartered energy technology company Gelion has entered into a material transfer agreement with a top 15 global automotive original equipment manufacturer to assess its NES cathode platform for future electric vehicle battery applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gelion will supply its sulfur-based cathode active material, coated cathodes and liquid electrolyte to the automotive partner. The manufacturer will evaluate the platform in both liquid and solid electrolyte cell configurations, testing compatibility across lithium metal and graphitic anode pathways targeting luxury and mass-market vehicle applications. The technology is designed to serve as a drop-in cathode material capable of integration into existing battery manufacturing lines without re-tooling.

Matt Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Gelion, said, "Our priority markets are commercial & defence drones, EVs and devices. We are honoured to be working with these major global automotive OEMs, and today’s announcement marks further progress towards the adoption of our technology and the generation of commercial revenues via funded programmes and eventually license and royalty revenue in the global EV market, alongside some of the industry’s leading companies."

"The growing engagement from global EV manufacturers reinforces the potential and attractiveness of our NES™ technology. This momentum is also mirrored in our agreements and partnerships across drones and devices, while our work with Tier 1 materials suppliers is advancing the scale-up of our unique, patented battery materials," Wood added.

The agreement expands Gelion’s ongoing industry testing programs with automotive manufacturers, extending the assessment of its sulfur-based cathode platform across liquid and solid battery systems.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!