Constellium SE will work with Renault Group to establish a closed-loop aluminum recycling process for the all-new Megane E-TECH Electric. Renault Group has developed a recycling process to bring manufacturing scrap from the stamping process directly back to Constellium, resulting in a reduced CO₂ footprint.

Based on best practices to avoid mixing 5xxx and 6xxx alloys and to compact scrap for optimal logistics at Renault Group, the closed-loop process will recycle these alloys, so that they can be reused in Renault Group’s production without any loss of properties, and overall with no downcycling.

For the all-new Megane E-TECH Electric, Constellium supplies aluminium Auto Body Sheet for outer panels from its Surfalex product range, combining high strength with excellent surface quality and hemming properties, and for the inner panels from the forming-optimized Formalex product range.

We are delighted to expand these activities with Constellium as part of our journey to carbon neutrality. The closed-loop recycling we had first established for the former vehicles manufactured in Douai are now further optimized for the production volumes of the all-new Megane E-TECH Electric. This collaboration further demonstrates our capacity to be at the forefront of decarbonizing mobility by reducing CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of our vehicles.

—Yvan Chastel, Expert Leader for Metals and Processes at Renault Group

Constellium and Renault Group have been working jointly since 2021 on R&D projects for alloys and solutions that enable closed-loop recycling, such as in the ISA3 collaborative initiative with ESI Group, Institut de Soudure (Welding Institute), and the University of Lorraine.

Recycling is a key pillar of Constellium’s sustainability targets for 2030, and the closed-loop partnership with Renault Group supports the journey towards achieving them. The company is substantially expanding its recycling capacity, with a €130-million investment for a new recycling center at its facility in Neuf-Brisach, France, which is expected to provide an additional ~130kt of recycling capacity by 2025.

Constellium, a full-service supplier of rolled and extruded aluminium solutions for the global automotive market, supplies aluminium for 1 in 4 vehicles produced in Europe and the US. Renault Group is supplied by Constellium’s ASI-certified facility in Neuf Brisach, France.