Mercedes-Benz and TSR Launch Urban Mining Pilot to Boost Sustainable Raw Material Supply

Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with German recycling specialist TSR Group to pilot an “urban mining” project that recycles end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) into high-quality secondary raw materials. According to a company statement, the initiative marks a step forward in building a closed-loop supply chain and advancing the automaker’s Ambition 2039 climate goals.

According to company plans, the pilot program, set to begin in summer 2025, will collect ELVs in northwest Germany, regardless of brand. Vehicles will be dismantled, pollutants removed, and valuable components extracted. TSR will apply its proprietary recycling process to recover materials such as steel, aluminum, plastics, copper, and glass. These will be sorted by type and reintroduced into the supply chain through selected suppliers, enabling their reuse in new Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The recycling method developed by TSR is designed to maximize recovery efficiency and prevent quality loss from downcycling, ensuring that the reclaimed resources maintain a quality suitable for direct integration into automotive production.

“Our vision of sustainable mobility requires us to significantly reduce the use of primary raw materials in our vehicles. Urban mining gives us the opportunity to keep valuable materials in the cycle in a resource-efficient manner,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer.

This pilot underscores a growing trend in the automotive sector toward circular economy practices, as automakers face stricter European regulations on emissions, recycling quotas, and raw material sourcing. With supply chains increasingly strained by geopolitical factors and resource scarcity, urban mining offers a strategic pathway to reduce dependency on virgin resources. Analysts note that by scaling such initiatives, Mercedes-Benz could not only meet EU recycling directives but also strengthen its resilience against raw material price volatility. Importantly, the automaker’s target of sourcing 40% of its materials from secondary inputs within the next decade reflects broader industry ambitions to decouple growth from resource consumption.

The pilot project with TSR is expected to provide key insights for integrating post-consumer materials into future vehicle lines, setting a benchmark for sustainable raw material strategies across the automotive industry.

Source: Mercedes-Benz Media