Audi has reached a major milestone in its efforts to promote circularity within the automotive industry. As part of its sustainability strategy, the company is committed to increasing the use of secondary raw materials in its vehicles wherever it is technically feasible and both environmentally and economically beneficial. The goal is to repurpose raw materials for new applications after their initial use.
To achieve this, Audi launched the MaterialLoop program in 2023 to explore viable approaches to material reuse. After initially validating the technical feasibility of recycling processes, Audi has now become the first car manufacturer to develop and implement a commercially viable system for recycling materials from end-of-life vehicles. This system was created in collaboration with TSR Recycling, a specialist in vehicle dismantling and material recovery. Through the process, steel scrap from decommissioned vehicles is transformed into high-quality post-consumer secondary material and reintegrated into the automotive supply chain.
Starting in 2025, Audi will begin scaling this approach by making several thousand preproduction vehicles available for recycling. TSR will shred these vehicles and extract high-grade recycled raw materials, which will then be reused across the industry. Audi will receive credit for these materials via a digital material account. Suppliers can access this account as part of the procurement process, granting them exclusive access to high-quality recycled steel—often subject to market volatility.
Audi Board Member for Procurement Renate Vachenauer said “Recycling holds tremendous potential. We are constantly working to increase the proportion of recycled materials in our vehicles. With the digital material account, Audi is pioneering a system in the automotive industry through which it can procure valuable recycled raw material resources more independently of the market. Audi demonstrates that sustainability and economics go hand in hand.”
Christian Blackert, Managing Director of TSR Resource added “We are delighted to be working with Audi to set another important milestone for the circular economy in the automotive industry. This project is an impressive example of what is possible thanks to industry partnerships. We are also reducing our dependence on fragile supply chains and making an important contribution to resilience in the face of the challenges posed by global markets.”
