Renault Group and SUEZ join forces to fast-track circularity in Europe's automotive sector

October 4, 2024 by Renault

• The two groups agree to step up their long-term cooperation and position The Future Is NEUTRAL as a standard-setter in the automotive sector's circular economy.

• SUEZ acquires a 20% stake in The Future Is NEUTRAL to team up with Renault Group, which will henceforth own 80% of the company.

• Through this operation, The Future Is NEUTRAL receives €140 million from its two shareholders to boost and broaden its operation serving Europe's entire automotive industry.

• The stake will be transferred and the contributions will be made once the necessary regulatory authorisations are obtained.

Renault Group and SUEZ step up their long-term partnership, which encompasses recycling waste metal and recovering end-of-life vehicles, with strategic agreements aimed at supporting the ecological transition in the automotive sector. Together, Renault Group and SUEZ, a world leader in waste recycling and recovery, will put The Future Is NEUTRAL in a position to speed up its expansion and rank among the standard-setters in the automotive industry's circular economy.

'SUEZ's decision to team up with us in The Future Is NEUTRAL is new evidence that coming up with this model was the right move. Our joint investment will allow us to accelerate in order to provide an open circular economy platform that meets the needs of all players in the automotive industry, in growing activities. We are doing this by strengthening existing operations and creating new closed-loop recycling solutions, from car to car' states Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group.

'By investing in The Future Is NEUTRAL alongside Renault Group, SUEZ is moving into a stronger position to support automotive industry players on their ecological transition. Securing secondary raw material supplies is one of the key challenges the automotive sector has to address over the coming years. Our expertise in waste recycling and recovery will enable us to support the sector's transformation as it transitions towards more circularity and to reduce its reliance on virgin raw materials' explains Sabrina Soussan, Chairman and CEO of SUEZ.

TEAMING UP TO SPEED UP THE CAR-TO-CAR ECONOMY

Renault Group and SUEZ are pooling their technical expertise and industrial capabilities within The Future Is NEUTRAL, to build the new value chain in the car-to-car circular economy. Their goal is to work with the various players in the sector to lessen their impact on natural resources, stay ahead of developments in regulation and provide new sources of recycled materials and parts.

Renault will contribute:

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• Its operation covering the entire automotive value chain and vehicle life cycle (design, useful life and end of life);

• Its expertise in automobile eco-design and the skills of its teams trained and keen to rise to this challenge;

• The industrial capabilities at its Refactory in Flins (France), Europe's first circular economy base specialised in mobility, which is active in a variety of fields including vehicle refurbishing, part remanufacturing and industrial robot revamping.

SUEZ will pool:

• Its in-depth knowledge of automobile recycling all the way upstream (carmakers and equipment manufacturers) and downstream (steelmakers and casters);

• Its expertise in automobile waste management (collection, massification, sorting and material recovery);

• Its industrial-scale capacity to produce consistent flows of recycled raw materials for its customers.

Together, both groups will develop the following key activities: design for recycling, reverse logistics, vehicle waste management and closed-loop car-to-car recycling.

THE FUTURE IS NEUTRAL, THE FIRST PLAYER IN 360° AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CIRCULARITY WORLDWIDE

The Future Is NEUTRAL, which launched at Renault Group's initiative, provides comprehensive circular economy solutions for:

• All automotive sector players – carmakers, equipment manufacturers, distributors, insurers and private customers;

• Every stage in the vehicle's life cycle: recycled materials for production; reusable, refurbished and remanufactured parts; end-of-life vehicle collection, management and recovery services.

'SUEZ's investment in The Future Is NEUTRAL is a decisive milestone in our plan to open up to the entire automotive industry. With our two shareholders' support, we will be able to confirm our growth roadmap aimed at expanding and massifying our solutions while making them even more competitive. A large part of our operation in the closed-loop circular economy value chain is already up, running and profitable. We are working on integrating closed-loop battery recycling and scaling up to industrial levels together in the near future, to work with Europe's automotive industry on its journey to circularity' points out Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, CEO of The Future Is NEUTRAL.

The circular economy's levers to limit the automotive industry's impact on natural resources

• Preparing to use secondary (recycled) raw materials during design and production. This is a vital goal: cars are 85% recyclable but are made with less than 30% of recycled materials today.

• Extending cars' useful life by reusing, refurbishing, repairing and remanufacturing as many parts as possible. These new possibilities cost less for users and are easier on the environment than new parts.

• Recovering used parts and recycling materials from end-of-life vehicles

11 million vehicles are scrapped every year in Europe. Tapping into this stream to recover parts that can still be used and retrieve raw materials for recycling limits the need to mine virgin raw materials.