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Mercedes-Benz Trucks Unveils the reECONIC – a Battery-Electric Vehicle Made from Recycled Materials
A sustainability alliance of 33 partners – led by the Daimler Truck division Mercedes-Benz Trucks, the waste collection vehicle specialist FAUN Umwelttechnik, and the recycling company TSR Group – demonstrates this with the concept vehicle “reECONIC”. The partners have manufactured the battery-electric waste collection vehicle, based on the Mercedes-Benz eEconic, in a particularly resource-efficient manner. The concept vehicle is equipped with the new FAUN reNew VARIOPRESS body, which is also partially made from recycled materials. The vehicle celebrated its world premiere in Munich at IFAT, the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies. In addition to Daimler Truck, FAUN and TSR, the other project partners include companies active in the fields of recycling and raw material extraction, semi-finished product manufacturing, and component production, as well as in the metal, plastics, glass, and wood processing industries. What unites these partners is that they have initiated significant changes in relevant production steps to make their processes more low-carbon. In the reECONIC, selected components were replaced with recycled materials and natural and bio-based materials. The partners supplemented the parts installed in the vehicle with forecasts and projections to determine how the circular content could theoretically be further increased. Overall, the combination of installed components and the study results show that, theoretically, around 80% of the materials steel, aluminum, glass, and plastic could be replaced with recycled materials and natural and bio-based materials.
The front axle and the 2 side members of the reECONIC are made of CO2e-reduced steel. The flat steel used for the side members is produced using innovative electric arc furnace technology and contains an average of 88% recycled steel. For forged steel, a recycled content of 97% was achieved, as demonstrated by the axle housing. The cab frame and the battery protection structure are largely made from recycled aluminum using the extrusion process. The installed aluminum components contain at least 75% post-consumer recycled material. The developers have also partially replaced the conventional, petroleum-based plastics and fiber-based reinforcing materials used in the production vehicle with a wide range of more sustainable alternatives for reECONIC. The reECONIC also uses retreaded tires, which reuse the existing carcass multiple times. This process increases the proportion of recycled and renewable materials to 80% after just the first retreading. This significantly reduces the demand for raw materials. With an average recycled glass content of 64%, the glazing significantly reduces the use of virgin raw materials and CO2 emissions during manufacturing (only the glass for the side and front mirrors and the display covers were sourced from series production). The reECONIC also marks the first time wood has been used in a modern commercial vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Trucks. As an exceptional alternative material, the beech wood used plays a prominent role in the project. In the reECONIC, elements in the floor, on the wheel arch, and on the fender are made of wood. In the separately constructed driver’s cab, the seat shell and the cab roof are also made of wood. The plan is for selected materials used for the first time in the reECONIC and innovative production steps to be incorporated into Daimler Truck’s series production in the future. For municipalities and waste management companies, this concept vehicle and the study results are intended to pave the way for a dual sustainability strategy featuring battery-electric drive technology and resource-conserving raw materials in line with the circular economy.
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The partners have demonstrated that, compared to a conventionally produced vehicle, the eEconic series could theoretically reduce CO2e emissions in vehicle manufacturing by up to 41% through the consistent use of recycled, natural, and bio-based materials. This figure was determined based on the physically implemented components installed in the vehicle, supplementary extrapolations, and forecasts provided by the partners.
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