Axion to develop sorting technology for recovery of high-grade recycled aluminium

Resource recovery firm Axion announced that it is undertaking further research into increasing recycled aluminium content in new vehicles as part of REALITY project led by Jaguar Land Rover. The company will develop techniques for sorting and separating specialist alloys from aluminium derived from end-of-life vehicles.

Last September, Jaguar Land Rover announced a new aluminium recycling programme- REALITY. The programme will enable JLR to recycle aluminium waste from end-of-life cars and then reuse it in new vehicles. The £2m REALITY project builds on the REALCAR programme set up in 2008 to reuse aluminium waste from the manufacturing process.

Axion’s Head of Circular Economy, Richard McKinlay said: “These extracted aluminium alloys will also be extensively tested to assess their suitability for reuse in new vehicles. If we can extract the right alloys and reuse them in the right components, then we will have created a closed-loop value chain for automotive aluminium.”

The company will evaluate and optimise sensor-based sorting technologies alongside working with Novelis, Norton Aluminium, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Brunel University and Innoval Technology.

The project by JLR can provide both financial and environmental long-term benefits, as recycling aluminium requires 95% less energy than traditional aluminium production. 

Richard McKinlay commented: “This ground-breaking research will contribute towards the development of the circular economy for the automotive sector and enhanced environmental performance. Innovations in the sorting and separating technologies applied to automotive end-of-life waste streams will also help other sectors, including packaging and construction.”