Mercedes-Benz Aims for Sustainability Through Recycling with the Tomorrow XX Program

• The automaker is looking at ways to reduce its vehicles’ carbon footprint by maximizing their recycled content.

• Examples of this include leather alternatives made from old tires, AC valves made from old airbags, and sidewalls made from up to 86% recycled aluminum.

• Repairable headlamps and components made of a single material are also being considered.

While the electrification of the automotive industry seems to have lost a bit of importance for consumers and regulatory bodies the world over, that doesn’t mean automakers have abandoned their goals for decarbonization.

Indeed, a few companies are still looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprint and increase the sustainability of their vehicles, even if that doesn’t necessarily mean forgoing combustion engines entirely.

For example, Mercedes-Benz is currently working on its Tomorrow XX program, which tries to find new ways of building vehicles that minimize their impact on the environment.

Anchored around recycled materials and ease of recyclability, this program is wide ranging, touching almost every aspect of the vehicle’s construction. In fact, the company says it has identified about 40 new materials and components over the last two years.

For starters, Mercedes-Benz expects to be able to manufacture sidewalls, a main component of a vehicle’s structure, by using up to 86% recycled aluminum.

Underbody cladding is also involved, with the company working on a way to reuse the plastics that are left over after scrap vehicles are shredded. Currently, these plastics are incinerated, and the production of underbody cladding is entirely reliant on new products.

Unseen components, such as plastic valves in the air conditioning system, have also been rethought, with the automaker finding recycled airbags to be a great candidate, thanks to the material’s properties that make it resistant to the extreme temperatures encountered by this system, from -40 to 130 degrees Celsius.

Closer to the vehicle’s occupants, the leather upholstery could give way to a rubber-based alternative made from repurposed old tires, biomethane, and bio-based polymers. Mercedes-Benz claims this material, called LABFIBER, is “almost identical” to real leather.

Furthermore, the automaker promotes plastics made from renewable materials such as biomethane, biomass, and stored CO2. A prototype door module that uses these innovations could have a carbon footprint that is about 30% smaller than that of the current part.

Another way in which Mercedes-Benz expects to reduce its carbon footprint is by making components of a single material, which makes recycling them much easier at the end of their service life.

A new PET material made with 65% recycled plastics could be used for interior components such as door pockets. Compared to the plastics currently in use, this material could be about twice as sustainable.

Another interesting aspect of sustainability that has been explored by the German automaker is the concept of repairability, which has taken a hit over the years as vehicles have become more and more complex.

Indeed, many components that could previously be fixed now have to be replaced in their entirety if one of their components fails, generating much more waste.

To counter this, at least in small part, Mercedes-Benz has found a way to make its headlamps repairable by constructing them with screws instead of gluing the assemblies shut.

To be clear, none of the innovations made within the scope of the Tomorrow XX program have been implemented into production as of now. Mercedes-Benz says this will only take place once all requirements of the components are met, without giving a more precise timeframe.

Nevertheless, this gives a glimpse at the possible solutions automakers could implement to make their future products more sustainable.