Green Materials in Cars: A Strategic Analysis

Government Regulations and Environmental Concerns Drive Future Growth Potential of Green and Eco-Friendly Materials

The automotive industry is undergoing a profound shift towards sustainability, driven by environmental regulations, consumer demand, and a growing awareness of the environmental impact of traditional materials. This report comprehensively analyzes green materials in the automotive sector, examining their definition, evolution, key categories, and applications. The report delves into the strategic implications of adopting green materials, analyzing their environmental impact reductions and comparing OEM approaches. The report also explores the regulatory landscape and future trends, providing a roadmap for sustainable material adoption in the future.

Traditional automotive materials, such as steel, aluminum, and plastics derived from fossil fuels, pose significant environmental challenges:

1. High Carbon Footprint: These materials' extraction, processing, and manufacturing contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Resource Depletion: Reliance on finite resources like fossil fuels and metal ores raises concerns about resource depletion and supply chain vulnerability.

3. Pollution and Waste: Manufacturing processes and end-of-life disposal generate pollution and contribute to landfill waste.

As an alternative to traditional materials, OEMs are increasingly experimenting with green and sustainable materials such as recycled plastics, recycled PET bottles, recycled metals, natural fibers, plant-based composites, bioplastics, and organic wastes from plants, trees, and consumers in different automotive applications within a car to offer lightweight and sustainable benefits. Recycled plastics and metals are the most adopted in the automotive industry. It provides a compelling combination of cost-effectiveness, reduced carbon emission benefits, and circular economy advantages compared with other green materials, making it the leading choice among OEMs.

However, challenges persist with the full-scale implementation of these materials in vehicles. Implementing green and environmentally sustainable materials involves huge investments, which especially burdens small- and medium-scale automotive OEMs. Recovery and recycling processes are not compelling enough to obtain high-quality recycled products at a cost that can compete with primary raw material prices. Though bio-based materials are environmentally friendly, they are not entirely sustainable owing to inefficient sourcing methods (e.g., deforestation of trees), low biodegradability potential in some materials, and higher production costs.

The base year of the report is 2024. It comprehensively analyzes each material and discusses different initiatives in the automotive ecosystem, highlighting the sustainability potential of materials, trend analysis, and strategic developments to provide a comprehensive understanding of the industry's trajectory.

The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Automotive Production Industry

Geopolitical Chaos

Why:

• Strict environmental regulations are increasingly forcing OEMs to implement recycled and eco-friendly materials in vehicles and reduce carbon emissions throughout the vehicle life cycle.
• For example, by 2030, the EU Commission will require OEMs to use 25% recycled plastics in their vehicles, with a quarter of it coming from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).

Frost Perspective:

• In the next 3 to 5 years, major OEMs will enact closed-loop processes to incorporate recycled materials into their vehicles. This is because of the reduced production costs when compared to virgin material sourcing and production.
• Economic headwinds, including a slowdown in EV sales and withdrawn subsidies, will contribute to the global slowdown of sustainable practices by OEMs despite the recognized benefits.

Internal Challenges

Why:

• Carbon neutrality commitments drive the integration of sustainable and green practices at OEM manufacturing plants.
• Though green materials are eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic counterparts, OEMs face multiple challenges, from sourcing to manufacturing processes to integrating them into the complex vehicles.

Frost Perspective:

• The adoption of natural plant fibers and bio-based polymers will be hindered over the next few years by cost barriers associated with sourcing, supply chain logistics, and processing complexities.
• In the next 3 to 5 years, OEMs will increasingly favor recycled materials like plastics, steel, and aluminum due to their cost-effectiveness compared to virgin materials.

Disruptive Technologies

Why:

• Chemical recycling processes, such as pyrolysis, are used to recycle plastics from existing plastics and consumer waste.
• Digital tools like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) enhance supply chain transparency by tracing raw material origins for sustainable and ethical sourcing.

Frost Perspective:

• Efforts to both reduce carbon footprints and position the automotive industry as a leader in sustainable manufacturing practices will rely on full-scale adoption of digital solutions (such as blockchain, digital twins, and generative AI). Yet, these efforts will not be widespread until after 2030.

Scope of Analysis

• This study analyzes the adoption of different types of green materials in cars, providing highlights on the different initiatives adopted by OEMs in the industry.
• OEMs are actively embracing environmentally sustainable materials in their vehicle models to meet the decarbonization goals set forth by various regulators and to make their supply chain sustainable and manufacturing practices cost-effective in the long run.
• Adopting green materials in vehicles can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their burden on landfills, oceans, and air pollution caused by the burning of scrap from ELVs.
• The study offers a holistic view of the different eco-friendly initiatives in the automotive ecosystem, highlights the sustainability potential of different materials, and discusses strategic developments to provide a comprehensive view of the industry's trajectory.
• The geographical scope of this study is global and only analyzes in-vehicle applications of green materials.

Growth Drivers

• Regulatory impact: Many countries (e.g., especially the EU, India) are enforcing strict ELV and recycling regulations and strong extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks. This is eventually leading to better scrap material recovery, increasing recycling initiatives, and efficient vehicle disposal projects among automakers in the industry.
• Maintaining a stable supply chain: OEMs are increasingly looking at making their supply chain stable and uninterrupted, and reducing their dependence on virgin materials while using more recycled and eco-friendly materials in their vehicles.
• Growing sustainability awareness: There is a growing emphasis on implementing sustainability in automotive production processes. Using recycled materials (e.g., plastics, metals) and bio-based alternatives will reduce the environmental impact of vehicle manufacturing.
• Battery production scaling for EVs: Global EV demand requires rapid scaling of battery production to meet the global need for energy storage solutions. OEMs are initiating battery material recycling initiatives to meet the growing demand for materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt for new EV battery production.

Key Competitors

• Stellantis
• Volkswagen
• Ford Motors
• General Motors
• Volvo
• BMW
• Mercedes-Benz
• Porsche
• Renault
• Kia Motors
• Nissan
• Mitsubishi
• Maserati
• Fisker Ocean
• Knauf Industries
• ECONYL
• Covestro
• LyondellBasell
• Rever Corporation
• Bcomp
• Green Dot Bioplastics
• NatureWorks
• Cruz Foam
• Redwood Materials
• Li-Cycle
• Glencore International
• Primobius
• Retriev Technologies
• Umicore
• Ascend Elements
• RecycliCo Battery Materials
• Novelis
• Schnitzer Steel
• Constellium
• Aurubis
• Nth Cycle
• Hydro
• UBQ Materials
• Genecis Bioindustries
• Continental
• Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd.

Growth Restraints

• High implementation costs: Implementing green and environmentally sustainable materials in areas such as material usage and energy generation involves huge investments, burdening automotive OEMs, especially small- and medium-scale automakers.
• Complex processing requirements: Recycled materials must be processed and refined to meet the optimal quality standards. For instance, natural fibers have water-absorbing properties, leading to dimensional instability and reduced mechanical properties in humid environments, which requires higher processing treatments.
• Lack of steady supply of eco-friendly materials: The supply chain of green materials is immature and could be challenging for OEMs to get a steady supply (e.g., of plastics waste, natural fiber material) from multiple sources on a consistent basis for their vehicle production, thereby leading to increased sourcing costs.
• Limited only to luxury vehicle owners: Some of the eco-friendly materials that are positioned as alternatives to plastic and leather are at least 20% more expensive when compared to the traditional materials, which will slow their adoption in mass market vehicles.