Automaker will start using recycled-content aluminum wheels next year.
The Munich-based BMW Group has announced it will start to use light-alloy cast wheels made from 70 percent secondary aluminum next year in its “new generation” of the Mini Countryman vehicle.
The use of scrap-content aluminum wheels was part of a larger announcement by the automaker regarding its commitment to using “cast aluminum wheels produced with 100 percent ‘green’ power for its BMW and Mini brands from 2024 onwards.”
For the Countryman, the combination of 100 percent green power for production and 70 percent secondary raw material content can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent compared to conventional manufacturing processes, says the vehicle manufacturer.
“Green power is one of the biggest levers for reducing CO2 emissions in our supply chain,” says Joachim Post, a member of the board of management of BMW AG who is responsible for its purchasing and supplier network. “We have already signed more than 400 contracts with our suppliers, including suppliers of wheels and aluminum, requiring them to use green power.”
The BMW Group says it procures about 10 million light-alloy wheels per year, with 95 percent of those are made from cast aluminum.
States the automaker, “Aluminum has good recycling properties, making it easier to melt down old wheels as part of the circular economy. This eliminates the need for energy-intensive electrolysis to produce the primary raw material. At the same time, the secondary raw material must also meet the BMW Group’s premium requirements for quality, design, safety and mechanical properties.”
The BMW Group also cites its involvement with the Australia-based Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), as “making an important contribution to creating an environmentally and socially responsible aluminum value chain.”
Systematically increasing the percentage of secondary aluminum, says BMW, “makes a further contribution to sustainability, in line with the principles of the circular economy the BMW Group aspires to.”
On the green energy side, BMW says since last year it has sourced aluminum from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) manufactured exclusively using electricity obtained from solar power. The aluminum produced in Dubai, UAE, is then processed in a BMW foundry in Germany, where it is used to manufacture body and drive train components. “The 43,000 metric tons of solar aluminum sourced in this way supply almost half the annual requirements of the Landshut [Germany] light metal foundry,” states the company.
Organizer of Singapore event says stakeholder conversations can accelerate the circular economy’s forward momentum.
As with any successful business conference or trade show, the organizers of the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESG) later this month seek to bring together stakeholders from throughout targeted industry sectors.
Dalson Chung, the managing director of CESG, in an exclusive interview with Brian Taylor of Waste Today, says the power in such gatherings, in a recycling context, lies in part in their ability to “to come together to identify and accelerate the action needed to achieve a circular economy.”
Waste Today (WT): How can an event like CESG help support circular economy efforts in Singapore and the ASEAN region?
Dalson Chung (DC): A global platform like CESG is a great opportunity for thought leaders, senior government officials, regulators, policy makers and industry captains to explore and develop innovative solutions that will help build sustainable and climate-resilient cities.
These solutions would not have been possible for a single stakeholder to implement on their own, further highlighting the importance for the industry and stakeholders to come together to identify and accelerate the action needed to achieve a circular economy.
From governments of cities to technology providers to end user associations, CESG will facilitate the cross-sharing of knowledge amongst the brightest minds from the environment and sustainability industry.
CESG also places a heavy emphasis on spurring innovation as demonstrated by having an NEA Innovation Pavilion, dedicated to showcasing new technologies, innovations, products and services in the environmental sphere. One of these is SCARCE, an E-Waste Recycling Project by the Nanyang Technological University which can directly contribute to circular economy efforts in Singapore.
WT: What is your assessment of the current venture capital and financing climate in Singapore for entrepreneurs with a circular economy idea?
DC: The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is a dire warning for the world to take action against climate change, and Singapore is no different. However, the environment has to be conducive for action to take place. This includes having the right policies and regulations, and the right circumstances for capital to flow to the solutions that are available.
As companies focus on sustainability and the circular economy, Singapore is set to be a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
In the recent budget speech that was announced by the Singapore government, it was highlighted that green finance is one of the fasting growing segments, and will issue $35 billion of green bonds by 2030 to fund public sector green infrastructure projects.
To that end, we foresee many new and exciting solutions and technologies to be funded in Singapore. As such, we’ve ensured that innovation and technologies will play a central role at the upcoming CESG.
There will be an Innovation Showcase and Pitch at the NEA Innovation Pavilion at CESG. Innovative ideas around managing e-waste, wastewater surveillance for COVID-19, cleaning robotics, and other innovations related to environmental services will be featured at the pavilion for companies to invest in.
WT: What are some ways in which the government of Singapore is funding or supporting increased landfill diversion? Has this level of support been increasing in recent years?
DS: Managing waste effectively has always been an important issue for land-scarce Singapore. We have made much effort across the people, private and public sectors to move Singapore towards becoming a zero waste nation.
Last year, the Singapore Green Plan 2030 was launched to catalyze a nationwide sustainability movement, to move toward a greener future. This included targeting to reduce 20 percent of waste sent to the Semakau Landfill by 2026 as an interim target before reaching the final target of a 30 percent reduction by 2030.
This year, we announced the $80 million Closing the Resource Loop (CTRL) funding initiative to support research and development on sustainable resource recovery solutions for key waste streams and on finding useful and safe applications for treated waste residues. This is on top of the $25 million awarded for the waste-to-energy program and $45 million under Closing the Waste Loop funding initiative in earlier years. Through the CTRL we aim to increase resource recovery and achieve a sustainable, resource-efficient and climate-resilient Singapore.
A key upstream measure to encourage sustainable production is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. EPR requires producers, such as manufacturers and importers, to be responsible for the collection and proper treatment of their products at end of life.
Since July last year, we implemented an EPR scheme for e-waste, one of Singapore’s priority waste streams, which reduces our waste to landfill and ensures valuable resources from e-waste are recovered and used in manufacturing new products.
Efforts are also ongoing to develop and EPR for packaging waste, another one of Singapore’s priority waste streams. We will start with a return scheme for beverage containers and have been consulting the industry and public on the framework for the scheme.
We are also pursuing chemical recycling of plastics that converts plastic waste into pyrolysis oil, which can be used as feedstock for the manufacturing of chemicals and plastics.
Steelmaker says NEAP program will assist its EAF conversion.
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada-based Algoma Steel Group Inc. says the province of Ontario’s newly announced Northern Ontario Energy Advantage Program (NEAP) is “an important program for Algoma as it pursues its transition to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking.”
“The province’s commitment to supporting industrial electricity customers through the Northern Industrial Electricity Rebate Program was key in our decision to pursue electric arc steelmaking,” says ,” said Michael McQuade, President and CEO of Algoma. The company announced its intention to convert to scrap-fed EAF production in mid-2021 and selected a technology provider last December.
Continues McQuade, “We believe the ongoing support from the government of Ontario through the enhanced NEAP program will play an important role in enabling us to modernize steelmaking and create a secure, stable future in Sault Ste. Marie. We recognize and thank the province for their support and leadership on the path to net zero.”
Algoma says its announced transition to EAF steelmaking, along with the NEAP announcement, “represents a further landmark reinforcing the relevance of its investment decision. Ontario’s clean energy grid is known as one of the lowest carbon emitting power supplies across North America. When combined with Algoma’s strategic decision to transition to EAF, the company intends to become one of the leading producers of green steel in North America.”
European group will meet in Amsterdam in mid-May.
Brussels-based FEFCO, an association for the European corrugated board industry, says it will hold its 2022 FEFCO Summit May 18-20 at the NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace.
FEFCO calls its summit “the event to attend to meet the European corrugated manufacturers and their suppliers.” Insights will be offered, says the group, “about EU issues impacting the paper and board value chain, global packaging trends, retail and customer issues [and] the challenges and opportunities for corrugated manufacturers and their customers.”
The theme this year is “Fit for the future,” and the program will address “challenges related to the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan, notably the Sustainable Products Policy and the Revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, as well as the pathway of the corrugated industry towards climate neutrality.”
FEFCO says, “The Green Deal and the Circular Economy are strategically important policy issues for the corrugated packaging industry. They have been our driver for many years and continue to lead the industry forward. Corrugated packaging is one of the best examples of a circular economy being 100 percent recyclable and recycled in reality.”
Panel discussions are being planned on decarbonizing the corrugated industry; efforts by the corrugated packaging sector to support the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retail supply chain to improve sustainability; and how corrugated packaging can fulfill single-use, reuse and recycling expectations.
London Metal Exchange says it will hire an “independent party (or parties)” to conduct the review.
An April announcement from the London Metal Exchange (LME) regarding last month’s nickel contract turbulence indicates the exchange will conduct an internal review process to join one being conducted by the Bank of England and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The announcement from LME executives Matthew Chamberlain and Adrian Farnham says in part, “LME Group welcomes [the] announcement by the FCA and the Bank of England, in respect of a review of the actions taken in response to events in the nickel market to determine what lessons might be learned.”
Regarding its own, parallel review, LME states, “LME Group will commission an independent review of broader events in the nickel market leading up to the suspension to identify any actions that could be taken to minimize the risk of a disorderly market arising in future. The LME Group will engage an experienced independent party (or parties) to undertake the independent review.”
While the LME says it intends to appoint those reviewers “as soon as practicable,” it also says “the full and detailed scope of the independent review has yet to be determined” and that the timeline for the review will not be established until the independent reviewer has been selected.
Procedurally, the LME says the independent reviewers “will have access to all the relevant data in respect of trading activity and position holdings for the period under review. Where and when appropriate, the LME Group will use its rulebook powers to obtain over-the-counter (OTC) and other data from market participants, and make this data available to the independent party that will be undertaking the independent review.”
The LME adds, “All market participants will be welcome to submit their views to the independent party.”
In the meantime, the LME says it has received “broad support for retaining” the 15 percent “upper and lower daily price limits for all of its physically delivered metals.”