PureCycle and Motherson Produce Class-A Automotive Bumper with 30% Recycled PP
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama / GARCHING, Germany — PureCycle Technologies and the Modules & Polymer Products Division of Motherson recently announced the successful production of a Class-A surface automotive bumper prototype incorporating 30% PureFive recycled polypropylene.
The bumper prototype was produced at Motherson’s facility in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with feasibility assessment and testing led by the Global Innovation Team in Germany. The component has since undergone rigorous performance tests, including climate testing and mechanical properties evaluation. The results will be presented at this week’s Startup Autobahn Expo.
Meeting EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation
The timing of this achievement is critical. The European Union’s End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation is creating binding requirements for automakers and their supply chains. By 2032 (pending final adoption), new vehicles must contain at least 15% recycled plastic content, with a minimum of 3% sourced from end-of-life vehicles. By 2036, those thresholds increase to 25% and 5%, respectively. Exterior components such as bumpers are directly within scope.
PureFive: Dissolution Recycling for Virgin-Like Quality
PureCycle’s patented dissolution recycling process removes colour, odour, and contaminants from post-consumer polypropylene, producing PureFive resin with properties similar to virgin material. PureFive is third-party certified for recycled content, providing the traceability and documentation that OEMs and regulators will require for mandate compliance.
“This collaboration with PureCycle is an important step toward integrating recycled materials into applications that meet the high requirements of premium OEMs for Class-A surfaces,” said Fabian Wehrle, Global Innovation Exterior Engineer at Motherson. “We want to evaluate this through extensive testing to meet the expectations of our customers in the automotive industry and to comply with the requirements of the EU End-of-Life Vehicles Directive.”
Scaling for European Supply
For automakers and Tier 1 suppliers targeting the European market, the Motherson-PureCycle bumper prototype provides a scalable blueprint for 2032 compliance. PureCycle is further expanding its production footprint to serve European customers directly, with a new dissolution recycling facility under development at the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, expected to be operational in 2029.
“This bumper represents exactly why there is such excitement around PureCycle and dissolution recycling,” said Nicolas Elwing, PureCycle’s Senior Director of Commercial in Europe. “For years, the automotive industry has been working to combine recycled materials with Class A quality. In collaboration with Motherson, there are now promising approaches to making this a reality.”
Future Development Goals
The collaboration between Motherson and PureCycle lays the foundation for continued work on:
- Automotive-grade material specifications
- Mass production evaluation with PureFive
- Long-term goal: closed-loop “bumper-to-bumper” recycling
- Increasing recycled content beyond 30%
- Expanding into additional PP applications for exterior and interior components
In addition to the Belgium facility, PureCycle is building a new dissolution recycling facility in Rayong, Thailand. Both facilities are expected to be operational before 2030, expanding PureCycle’s global capacity to serve the automotive supply chain as ELV mandate deadlines approach.
Resources
- PureCycle Press Release: https://www.purecycle.com/news/purecycle-and-motherson-produce-class-a-automotive-bumper-with-30-recycled-polypropylene
- PureCycle Website: https://www.purecycle.com/
- Motherson Website: https://www.motherson.com/
Company Boilerplates
PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCT) holds a global license to commercialize the only patented solvent-based purification process that restores waste polypropylene to virgin-like resin. The company’s first commercial facility in Ironton, Ohio, is ramping toward nameplate capacity of 107 million pounds annually.
Motherson (Sammar Motherson International Ltd) is a leading global automotive supplier of modules and polymer products, serving premium OEMs worldwide with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and manufacturing excellence.
Source: PureCycle Technologies press release, July 3, 2026