BMW is showing e-cars made from 100 percent recycled raw materials

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In the course of the IAA Mobility 2021, BMW presented the “i Vision Circular” with an outlook on a compact electric vehicle made from 100 percent recycled raw materials. Circular economy should come into focus.

With the iVision Circular, the Bavarian car manufacturer wants to show its direction for the future up to 2040: The focus of future vehicles is on the aspects of sustainability and luxury. BMW wants to consistently design this according to the principles of the circular economy, in order to become, in its own words, “the most sustainable manufacturer for individual premium mobility”.

BMW explains that it has set itself the goal of reducing C02 emissions over the entire life cycle of a vehicle in order to achieve climate neutrality. In addition to the electrification of the entire product range and electricity for production from renewable energies, the group is particularly focusing on the principles of the circular economy. This also includes the use of secondary materials.

With the iVision Circular, the manufacturer is demonstrating how the whole thing could work: BMW uses secondary aluminum or secondary steel for the vehicle, which are recovered from discarded materials through recycling and reused. BMW explains that the provision of secondary materials is significantly less harmful to the environment and CO2-intensive than the extraction and manufacture of primary materials. In this way, the CO2 balance of vehicles in the supply chain can be improved.

At the moment, vehicles from the BMW Group are still made from an average of almost 30 percent from recycled and reused materials. With the help of the new “Secondary First” approach, the manufacturer is planning to gradually increase this value to 50 percent.

The iVision Circular can be seen as the consistent implementation of the circular economy, as it consists of 100 percent recycled materials and is also 100 percent recyclable.

While secondary aluminum is used in the concept vehicle, recycled materials are also used in the interior. Even the solid-state battery in the BMW iVision Circular is 100 percent recyclable – it too is “made almost entirely from materials that come from the recycling cycle,” says the car manufacturer. In addition, it uses significantly fewer valuable resources and still achieves “a significantly higher energy density”.

BMW boss Oliver Zipse explains: “The BMW iVision Circular shows how comprehensively and consistently we think about sustainable mobility. It stands for our claim to be a pioneer in the development of a circular economy. ”He continues:“ We want to extend our leading position in resource efficiency in production to the entire life cycle of our vehicles. ”The group is not just concerned with sustainability , but also about “business sustainability”. “Because the current development of raw material prices shows what effects an industry that is dependent on limited resources must expect,” said Zipse.

Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, explains that the Group consistently considered circularity during the design process for the BMW iVision Circular. “That is why this vision vehicle is full of innovative ideas that combine sustainability with a new and inspiring aesthetic – we call this approach ‘Circular Design’.”

The approach comprises the four principles “Rethink”, “Reduce”, “Reuse” and “Recycle”. Based on these four pillars, components should be questioned, reconsidered and redesigned. In the course of this, BMW completely omitted components or processes. The iVision Circular is not painted, but anodized. The reason for this: Painting requires a lot of energy and makes recycling more difficult. In addition, the BMW logo is also engraved and not stuck on. “A few different material groups made of monomaterials, the connections of which can be easily separated, are decisive for good recycling,” emphasizes BMW.

Before BMW puts a series version of the iVision on the road, the introduction of the “New Class” can be expected. A new vehicle platform, which is to be used for all BMW models, plays an elementary role here. But a new generation of electric drives and batteries is also planned. According to BMW, this is a highly integrated high-voltage storage concept with an optimized battery cell design. The technology is to be used in the Cluster Architecture (CLAR) III.

Even with the “New Class”, the car manufacturer is relying on efficient recycling options based on the iVision Circular: “We are developing the“ New Class ”in terms of sustainability with the mindset of the BMW iVision Circular,” explains Zipse.