TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium sign a strategic partnership for the automotive industry

TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium have signed a strategic partnership that will see them join forces to design and develop new plastic materials, made from recycled polypropylene, which meet the demanding aesthetic and safety standards that apply to the automotive industry.

TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium will pool their engineering skills to design new types of recycled materials that offer enhanced performance and are better for the environment while providing deliverable responses to the challenges raised by end-of-life plastics. These new materials, containing 20% to 100% recycled materials sourced from industrial and domestic waste streams, have a CO2 impact as much as six times lower than using virgin materials.

The use of plastics in automotive bodywork plays a key role in cutting the automotive industry’s carbon emissions. They make it easier to improve aerodynamic performance and reduce the overall weight of vehicles, helping in turn to cut the amount of fuel used by internal combustion vehicles and increase the autonomy of electric vehicles.

Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers at TotalEnergies said: “This partnership with Plastic Omnium is a great example of collaboration and innovation to develop ever-higher and environmentally friendly recycled plastic materials that help our OEM and vehicle manufacturer customers to reduce their carbon footprints. This project will also contribute to addressing the challenge of the circular economy and to our ambition of producing 30% recycled and renewable polymers by 2030.”

Stéphane Noël, President and CEO of Plastic Omnium Intelligent Exterior Systems, added: “Recycling plastic materials is a challenge to us as manufacturers, and a vital issue for our planet. This exciting partnership paves the way to providing responses that are better integrated and more environmentally friendly, reflecting our customers’ and suppliers’ carbon neutrality goals. This is absolutely central to a strategic partnership that seeks to support the far-reaching transformation the industry is currently undergoing.”