On Monday, the car manufacturing group Stellantis and metals recycler Galloo announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for negotiations to form a joint venture focused on End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) recycling.

The Stellantis-Galloo joint venture will work with selected Authorized Treatment Facilities to collect ELVs from the last owner, enabling the recovery of parts for reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. The service is expected to launch at the end of 2023, initially focusing on France, Belgium, and Luxembourg and then expanding across Europe. In addition, the joint venture will offer its services to other automakers.

Reduce environmental impact

“Making it easy for customers to recycle their End-of-Life Vehicles is a crucial element to reduce the environmental impact of our vehicles,” said Alison Jones, Stellantis Senior Vice President for Global Circular Economy. “Returning parts and materials to the value chain preserves scarce resources and helps our drive to reach carbon net zero by 2038. We look forward to implementing the program this year and quickly expanding.”

“We are delighted to announce a new step forward in our long relationship, first with Peugeot and Citroën, and now Stellantis, as we continue to lead the way in sustainable and responsible business by taking End-of-Life Vehicle recycling to the next level,” said Rik Debaere, Galloo CEO. “Together with Stellantis, we drive innovation and ensure a more sustainable future for all.”

Recycling is an integral part of the Stellantis strategy called ‘Reman, Repair, Reuse, Recycle’. “The ELV recycling program will contribute to increasing recycling revenues 10-fold and parts revenues 4-fold by 2030, as compared to 2021,” says the press release.

“The target is to generate more than €2 billion in revenues in 2030, as outlined in the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. The ELV recycling program also supports the Stellantis goal of having 40% green materials in new vehicles by 2030.

Border country

Founded in 1939, Galloo has become a leading player and innovative partner in the circular economy. Through an extensive network of 42 subsidiaries (in Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, they manage the recovery, maximum transformation, and reuse of metals (ferrous and non-ferrous) and certain types of industrial plastics for the global quality materials industry.

Every year, Galloo recycles more than 1 million tons of steel, more than 60 000 tons of metals, and 35 000 tons of technical plastics. The leading site of Galloo lies in the border territory between Belgium and France. The site of 14 hectares is officially based in Belgium (Menen) but is partly situated on the territory of the French commune Halluin.

Together with the Belgian Scrap Terminal in Antwerp, Galloo is one of the more prominent players in the automotive recycling industry. Nevertheless, it struggles with the supply of end-of-life vehicles or car wrecks. In 2020, for example, the site recycled 130 000 vehicles; in 2021, there were only 20 000.

For years, the recycling sector has complained about illegally exported vehicles and wrecks initially destined for recycling. Through intensified cooperation with Stellantis, Galloo hopes to stabilize the supply of ELVs, in the first place, coming from the Stellantis network.

The 50/50 joint venture between Stellantis and Galloo will be hosted by Stellantis’s daughter Valorauto. The cooperation will be expanded later to other countries. Galloo won’t open recycling businesses there but search for local recycling partners.