Audi taps pyrolysis for recycling of scrap tires in Hungary

Gyor, Hungary – Audi has boarded the pyrolysis bus in Hungary, with a new system for recycling waste tires generated at its vehicle plant in Gyor.

The initiative follows an agreement signed by Audi Hungaria with local end-of-life tire (ELT) pyrolysis company New Energy Kft.

Under the deal, waste tire arisings from the premium car maker’s site are processed at New Energy’s site in Dunaharaszti, Budapest – a two-hour drive from Gyor.

The arrangement, said Audi, avoids "the release of microplastics and the hazardous substances that leach from them into the environment during recovery."

At the New Energy facility, ELTs are converted into secondary raw materials, including pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black.

"The oil produced is used by petrochemical companies to produce new plastics, while the resulting recovered carbon black is used in tire production," said Audi.

This will ensure that environmentally-friendly technologies are used not only in manufacturing, but also throughout product life-cycle, said Alfons Dintner, chairman, Audi Hungaria.

Operational since 2003, New Energy says the Dunaharaszti unit is Hungary’s first ELT pyrolysis facility, with a processing capacity of 10 kilotonnes of waste tires per annum.

Audi Hungaria lists annual production at its Gy?r site at around 171,000 vehicles (2021), with models including the Audi TT Coupé, Roadster, Q3 and Q3 Sportback.

The 12,000-employee site also house “the world’s largest plant for the production of powertrains” and has has been producing electric motors for the Audi e-tron since 2018.