Covestro, BMW, and Forvia Forge Alliance for Automotive Circular Economy

Covestro, BMW, and Forvia are consolidating forces within the German-funded Kollert research project, aiming to tackle the most critical sustainability and supply chain challenges in the automotive industry by opening a new chapter in resource efficiency.

Germany's "CircularGlowUp" Fund and the Kollert Consortium

Backed by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under the CircularGlowUp funding framework, this three-year project seeks to develop recyclable product concepts for automotive lighting, mechatronic, and electronic components.

■The project is scheduled to run from June 2026 to May 2029.

■The total BMFTR funding volume is set at €4.371 million, including project lump sums.

■Supervised by the Karlsruhe Project Management Agency (PTKA), the consortium features Forvia Hella as the coordinator, alongside partners such as Geba, Fraunhofer IEM, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, the University of Paderborn, and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.

Regulatory Pressure and Supply Chain Resilience

The automotive industry faces mounting pressure from resource scarcity, supply security concerns, and tightening regulations, most notably the EU End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation. Covestro notes that technological hurdles and cost pressures have historically prevented efficient plastic cycles from establishing scale.

■The Kollert project addresses this gap by placing "Design for Circularity" at the core of its strategy.

■The project implements 4R strategies: Repair, Re-Use, Remanufacture, and Recycle.

■The research focuses on making future lighting components repairable, reusable, and recyclable, determining the necessary production and logistics processes.

Polymer Expertise and Recyclable Design

As a key materials partner, Covestro contributes its expertise in high-performance polymers and sustainable material solutions, working across the full circular value chain—from supporting circular product design to evaluating recycling pathways for polycarbonate.

■Covestro’s Makrolon, Bayblend, and Apec materials are among the most widely used plastics in automotive lighting applications.

■Bringing these materials back into high-quality use cycles is central to the project's ambition.

■Ensuring that material properties, recyclate quality, and end-of-life behavior are considered from the design stage onward is positioned as a prerequisite for true circularity.

From an air freight and logistics perspective, this development should not be viewed merely as an environmental initiative. "Circular Economy" reduces dependency on traditional raw material supply chains, serving as a strategic move to balance logistics costs and risks in sensitive supply lines, particularly the air bridge from Asia to Europe. The integration of reverse logistics processes triggers a fundamental operational evolution that is set to reshape automotive supply chain models.