Stellantis inaugurates recycling centre in Turin
Further activities will be added to the facility’s repertoire over time. Stellantis had already opened a centre for battery technology at the Mirafiori plant in September. For the recycling of electric car batteries, the car manufacturer launched a cooperation with Orano about a month ago. A battery supply deal and potential joint venture with CATL were also announced just a few days ago.
For the new facility, Stellantis placed an investment of €40 million. It is built over a total area of 73,000 m². Stellantis states that it recycled over 5,000 tonnes of metal of obsolete assets in the construction, also utilizing space and materials from an old facility. The site currently employs 170 upskilled employees and is planned to expand to approximately 550 people by 2025, when the facility is fully up and running.
Stellantis first objective with the new tech centre is to “extend the life of parts and vehicles,” after which the next steps are also envisioned with recycling components, end-of-life vehicle dismantling activity, as well as returning reusable parts to the manufacturing loop building new vehicles and parts. To achieve this, the facility is split into four different activity sections: Remanufacturing, a sorting centre, vehicle reconditioning and vehicle dismantling.
Remanufacturing will take used, worn, or defective components, and prepare them for disassembly, cleaning, and remanufacturing them “to original OEM specifications, without compromising quality”. Stellatnis. The facility expects to manage over 50,000 remanufactured parts by 2025, rising to 150,000 by 2030.
In the sorting centre, Stellantis expects an estimated 2.5 million worn parts, known as cores, to supply the facility’s remanufacturing and recycling activities by 2025. This number is then further expected to scale to 8 million cores by 2030. The reconditioning section will focus on the repair, remanufacturing, and reuse of electric vehicles, preparing them for sale through the Stellantis used-vehicle programme.
Finally, the Vehicle Dismantling unit will work on vehicles at the end of their life cycle, aiming to generate resources for parts to be remanufactured, reused or as “material for recycling”.
“The Circular Economy Hub brings together a powerhouse of skills and activities aimed at creating a high-performing centre of excellence in Europe,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “We are industrializing the recovery and sustainable reuse of materials, building new technologies and advanced capabilities as we grow in this area.” Stellantis Chairman John Elkann added: “This additional investment of our company here in Turin demonstrates the commitment of Stellantis to Italy in the context of the evolution of our industry, and also the ability of our communities to renew themselves by building their future.”
The European Union also recently formulated raw material requirements for vehicle manufacturers, however, the contained recycling targets are less ambitious than what Stellantis is targeting in Turin.
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