Old cars usually end up in the scrapyard for shredding. At least 85 per cent of the materials are processed in the industry, as stipulated in the End-of-Life Vehicle Ordinance. However, only a minimal proportion is returned to the automotive industry.

Industrial recycling processes are still associated with excessive losses in material quality. This should also change in view of Germany's target of CO2 neutrality by 2045. The aim of a research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection is to increase the proportion of reused materials in vehicle production to at least 50 per cent. This involves the recovery and reuse of aluminium, steel, glass, copper and plastic. To this end, scientists at the Institute of Mechanical Process Engineering and Processing Technology are initially working with partners to develop a dismantling process for vehicle parts.

The quality and purity of the recyclable materials required for reuse can only be improved if their sorting and recognition in the material mix from the shredder is optimised. In order to be able to analyse these processes, the Freiberg researchers are using sensor technology developed at the Helmholtz Institute for Resource Technology in Freiberg. This is being tested on an industrial scale at a sorting plant at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. It can be used to evaluate particles as small as one to ten centimetres. The BMW Group has provided around 500 end-of-life vehicles for a practical test at Scholz-Recycling in Espenhain. The aim of the project is to develop technological solutions that help reduce the automotive industry's dependence on raw material imports.