The council aims to establish a "Car-to-Car" recycling system by 2035, utilizing automated precision dismantling and digital platforms to create a circular economy in the automotive industry.
In a landmark collaboration, six prominent Japanese companies – DENSO CORPORATION, Toray Industries, Nomura Research Institute, Honda Motor, MATEC, and REVER CORPORATION – today announced the establishment of the BlueRebirth Council. This pioneering initiative marks a significant step towards a sustainable future for the automotive industry, with a core mission to expand the use of recycled materials in new vehicles and realize a true "Car-to-Car" recycling system.
The newly formed council will be led by its Chairperson Hirotsugu Takeuchi, Executive Officer, CTO, and CDO of DENSO CORPORATION, and Vice Chairperson Naoto Matsuoka, President and Executive Officer of REVER CORPORATION. The industry's conventional method of shredding end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) before material sorting often results in low-purity recycled materials, hindering their widespread adoption in new vehicle production. Furthermore, a notable lack of integrated collaboration between manufacturing and recycling sectors, coupled with the automotive recycling industry's struggles with automation, digitalization, and labor shortages, has impeded progress in achieving a circular economy.
The BlueRebirth Council envisions a transformative shift by 2035, aiming to evolve the automotive recycling industry into a sophisticated "recycled materials manufacturing industry." This new paradigm will position the recycling sector as a pivotal component of a comprehensive resource-circulating value chain within the automotive landscape. The ultimate goal is to achieve a closed-loop Car-to-Car recycling system, where all automobile parts are returned to raw materials and seamlessly re-utilized in new vehicle production.
A cornerstone of the Council's strategy is the advancement of "automated precision dismantling." This cutting-edge intelligent system will leverage AI and sensor technologies to enable robots to efficiently disassemble ELVs, even those with deformed parts, along optimal paths. This innovative approach promises to overcome the limitations of conventional methods by ensuring the quality and volume of recycled materials required for high-standard automotive components. Beyond material recovery, automated precision dismantling is also expected to fundamentally address the pressing issue of worker shortages in the recycling industry by improving workplace environments and promoting automation.
Moreover, the BlueRebirth Council plans to establish a robust digital platform to record and share crucial information, such as material provenance and environmental impact, across the entire manufacturing and recycling value chain. This digital transparency will be instrumental in ensuring a reliable and stable supply of high-quality recycled materials, fostering greater trust and efficiency within the circular economy framework.
With approximately 30 companies joining as members at its inception, the BlueRebirth Council will engage in rigorous discussions, research, and technology development, as well as demonstration projects.
