TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium have joined forces to design and develop new plastic compounds made from recycled polypropylene, the companies have announced. To that end, the companies have entered into a strategic partnership to pool their innovation and engineering skills to create new types of recycled materials, suitable for use in the automotive industry and aimed at to supporting the far-reaching transformation the industry is currently undergoing.
Recycling offers benefits beyond simply the diversion of valuable plastic resources from landfill or incineration. The new materials to be developed, containing 20% to 100% recycled materials sourced from industrial and domestic waste streams, will also have a CO2 impact as much as six times lower than using virgin materials.
As Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers at TotalEnergies pointed out: “This partnership with Plastic Omnium is a great example of collaboration and innovation to develop ever-higher and environmentally friendly recycled plastic materials.”
Plastics play a key role in cutting the automotive industry’s carbon emissions. They make it easier to improve aerodynamic performance and reduce the overall weight of vehicles, helping in turn to cut the amount of fuel used by internal combustion vehicles and increase the autonomy of electric vehicles.
However, they must also meet the demanding aesthetic and safety standards that apply within the automotive industry, making the use of recycled materials an especially formidable proposition.
“Recycling plastic materials is a challenge to us as manufacturers, and a vital issue for our planet,” said Stéphane Noël, President and CEO of Plastic Omnium Intelligent Exterior Systems.
“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.”