SP Member News Roundup – September 2021

SP provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers, their large and small suppliers, the US EPA and other government entities from around the world to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact.

This series collects recent news and updates though September 2021 highlighting efforts of SP member companies and partners to advance initiatives with positive environmental impact.

  • Battery Solutions recognized as Global Battery Recycler Leader. Battery Solutions’ is honored to be featured in a new publication ‘300 Years of Leadership and Innovation’ as a global leader in battery recycling. Battery recycling’s role in the field of sustainability has exponentially grown and is a true contributor to the circular economy model. Learn more. 
  • BASF, L&L Products and Stellantis collaborate for lightweight success on the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L. BASF, L&L Products and Stellantis have been recognized for lightweighting success on the composite tunnel for the 2021 Jeep® Grand Cherokee L. The vehicle, which launched in May, just won the prestigious Altair Enlighten Award for achievements in vehicle weight savings. Learn more.
  • Cox Automotive Mobility Takes Charge of EV Battery Lifecycle Services With Global Acquisition. Focused on being the world’s best end-to-end caretaker for the electric vehicle (EV) future from storage and logistics to remanufacturing, reuse and pre-treatment recycling, Cox Automotive Mobility announced a foundational investment for its new global EV battery service network with the acquisition of Spiers New Technologies (SNT), a leading service provider for EV battery lifecycle management. Learn more.
  • DENSO to Issue Sustainability Bonds for the First Time. DENSO Corporation announces that it has issued DENSO Group’s first sustainability bonds denominated in USD to further promote sustainability management. Sustainability bonds are bonds issued to finance activities that contribute to both environmental and social sustainability. Learn more.
  • Henkel wins Altair Enlighten Award. More than 4 million vehicles are pretreated annually with Henkel’s next generation metal pretreatment process, which today received the second-place award in the sustainability category of the 2021 Altair Enlighten Awards.  The award honors the greatest sustainability and lightweighting advancements in the automotive industry.  Learn more.
  • Ford Announces New Mega Campus In Tennessee And Twin Battery Plants In Kentucky.  Ford Motor Company is announcing plans to bring electric vehicles at scale to American customers with two new massive, environmentally and technologically advanced campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky that will produce the next generation of electric F-Series trucks and the batteries to power future electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Learn More.
  • Ford, Redwood Materials Teaming Up On Closed-Loop Battery Recycling, U.S. Supply Chain. Ford Motor Company and Redwood Materials announced they are working together to build out battery recycling and a domestic battery supply chain for electric vehicles. Ford and Redwood’s goal is to make electric vehicles more sustainable, drive down the cost for batteries, and ultimately help make electric vehicles accessible and affordable for more Americans. Learn more.
  • ‘Made in America’ companies create new products from recycled material. Companies across the country are not letting American-made material go to waste. The Ford auto plant in Dearborn, Michigan, is donating more than $100,000 worth of leather scraps discarded from car seats and giving them to local small businesses in Detroit. Learn more.
  • GM Set to Reach 100 Percent Renewable Energy in the U.S. 5 Years Ahead of Schedule. General Motors announced that it plans to source 100 percent renewable energy to power its U.S. sites by 2025 – five years earlier than previously announced, and 25 years ahead of its initial target that was set in 2016. By accelerating its renewable energy goal, GM aims to avoid 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions that would have been produced between 2025 and 2030. Learn more.
  • Heritage Battery Recycling and 6K Partner to Commercialize the First Cathode-Grade Battery Recycling Network for the North American Market. Heritage Battery Recycling, LLC and 6K announced an exclusive joint development agreement to produce new cathode material from recycled batteries. This process leverages Heritage’s established network infrastructure to collect, store, and process end-of-life batteries, combined with 6K’s plasma technology to manufacture critical cathode-grade battery materials needed to power applications with high-purity requirements. Learn more.
  • Honda Vies for “Cleanie” Award for Clean Energy. Honda’s virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with an Oklahoma wind farm is adding clean energy to the grid. Honda is one of many companies working to decrease its carbon emissions and is up for a Cleanie Award for its VPPA with the Boiling Springs Wind Farm – one of two long-term VPPAs Honda entered into in 2019 for renewable energy.  Learn more.
  • ICL Announces €250 Million Sustainability Linked Loan. ICL announced a new €250 million sustainability linked loan (SLL). The loan is an innovative step forward in the company’s ongoing sustainability efforts and includes three sustainability performance targets. These targets have been designed to align with ICL’s sustainability strategy and goals, and each will be assessed at specific times during the term of the loan by third-party certification. Learn more.
  • Li-Cycle to Build New Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facility in Alabama. Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. announced that the Company will build a fourth commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility, to be located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. With the pace of deployment of new battery mega-factories far exceeding initial expectations, Li-Cycle will construct an additional fourth Spoke in North America. Learn more.
  • Li-Cycle Announces $100 Million Investment from Koch Strategic Platforms. Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. announced that Koch Strategic Platforms will make a $100 million investment in Li-Cycle through purchase of a convertible note to support the Company’s rapidly expanding growth opportunities in North America, Europe and Asia. Learn more.
  • Toyota to Assemble Fuel Cell Modules at Kentucky Plant in 2023. After thousands of miles of real-world testing in the harsh environment of commercial trucking, Toyota is preparing to further expand its portfolio approach to products by taking its groundbreaking hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric technology from prototypes to production in its efforts toward carbon neutrality. Learn more.
  • Clearway signs second clean power contract with Toyota. Clearway Energy Group announced that it has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) to support Clearway’s 100 MW Wildflower Solar project in DeSoto County, Mississippi. Toyota will purchase the majority of the electricity the project will generate, 80 MW, to replace the high emission electricity used in its operations with zero emissions renewable electricity on the grid. Learn more.
  • VLS Recovery Services Expands Waste Services with Acquisition of ERC. VLS Recovery Services, LLC announced that it has acquired Environmental Recovery Corporation (“ERC”) from Rock Island Capital. Based in Lancaster, PA, ERC provides wastewater treatment, industrial waste management, and other environmental services to customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.  Learn More.
  • Apple selects 15 Black- and Brown-owned businesses for first-of-its-kind Impact Accelerator. Apple unveiled its first class of 15 Black- and Brown-owned businesses on the cutting edge of green technology and clean energy, who will join the company’s Impact Accelerator to support equity and opportunity in the environmental sector, including SP member company VMX International. Learn more.
  • Yamaha Rightwaters™ Launches Plastic Recycling Pilot Program. Working in conjunction with Nexus Fuels® of Atlanta, Ga., and Tommy Nobis Enterprises, of Marietta, Ga., Yamaha Rightwaters aims to return 10,000 pounds of Polyethylene and Polypropylene sheet plastics back into their base materials before the end of the calendar year. It will serve as a proof of concept for an envisioned national program intended to reduce plastic waste in the nation’s waterways. Learn more.
  • Energizing our Community Green Thumbs. In a recent article, Suppliers Partnership member John Bradburn shares the story of how Battery Solutions, General Motors, ERA Environmental Management Solutions and others came together to find a higher use for outdated EV battery shipping containers. Learn more.
  • Building a More Sustainable Car, From Headlamp to Tailpipe. Vehicle makers shy away from traditional materials that are hard to recycle, like leather and plastics, and look to repurpose alternatives that still convey quality. Read more.
  • For Automakers, Sustainability Starts on the Factory Floor. Nearly every auto manufacturer has set sustainability targets—the dates when they will produce only electric models or achieve carbon neutrality. Some of the biggest innovations are on the ground. Learn more.

SP members may send their environmental sustainability news to info@supplierspartnership.org for consideration in future news roundups. And, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest SP news and updates.

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