Direct aluminium-alloy upcycling from entire end-of life vehicles

Abstract The global transition to a circular economy hinges on the development of sustainable recycling processes for end-of-life vehicles (ELVs)¹,². ELV recyclability currently faces major challenges in connection with aluminium parts. Modern cars contain both wrought and cast aluminium alloys, which are incompatible for a recycled high-performance alloy²–⁷. Failing to reintegrate this aluminium scrap forfeits substantial energy, emissions, and cost savings⁸,⁹. Electrification and last decades materials selection generate a surplus²,⁶ of low-grade scrap⁶,¹⁰, making the need for novel ELV recycling approaches even more urgent. This study presents a process for directly upcycling mixed ELV scrap into a high-performance aluminium alloy under realistic industrial conditions. The process dispenses with the need for sorting or dilution and is compatible with existing infrastructure. By leveraging metallurgical principles of heterostructures¹¹ and accelerated precipitation¹², it achieves yield strengths more than double those produced by previous rapid solidification methods¹³, even surpassing the commercial automotive alloy spectrum. The process is tailored to the compositions of both shredded ELV scrap from today’s average European vehicles, and future global scrap streams. The new approach establishes a circular, low-emissions route to high-value aluminium recovery and offers a strategic model for transforming critical raw material streams into next-generation structural alloys.