By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : September 05, 2025 4:36 pm
The partners are helping keep valuable polyurethane foam out of landfills and reintegrating it into productive use.
Dow, in partnership with Gruppo Fiori, has announced a pioneering advancement in automotive recycling with the development of a novel process that recovers polyurethane foam from end-of-life vehicles without the need for disassembly. This innovation combines Dow’s expertise in materials science with Gruppo Fiori’s established recycling ecosystem, marking a significant step toward a truly circular supply chain for the automotive industry.
Polyurethane foam plays a critical role in vehicle interiors, valued for comfort, safety and fuel efficiency. A typical car contains around 28 kilograms of PU, with 10 to 15 kilograms used in seating alone—representing a considerable opportunity for sustainable impact. Traditionally, recycling this material required disassembly, adding cost and complexity for recyclers. The new process developed by Dow and Gruppo Fiori eliminates this barrier by producing a clean polyurethane waste stream directly from end-of-life vehicles, with the purity necessary for depolymerization and chemical recycling.
By unlocking this streamlined pathway, the partners are helping keep valuable polyurethane foam out of landfills and reintegrating it into productive use. The process not only enables the creation of recycled-content polyols for mobility applications but also supports compliance with upcoming End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation (ELVR) requirements and aligns with OEM sustainability goals.
“Collaboration is essential to building a closed-loop supply chain for the automotive industry,” said Dr. Esther Quintanilla, Global MobilityScience Marketing Director, Dow Polyurethanes. “Through our partnership with Gruppo Fiori, we are helping OEMs and component manufacturers achieve their sustainability and regulatory targets while maintaining the performance benefits that polyurethanes provide.”
This milestone builds on the memorandum of understanding signed in 2024, where both companies committed to creating an ecosystem for recycling end-of-life vehicle materials. Since then, they have analyzed dismantling processes, assessed material purity and recyclability, and piloted innovative business models through a rapid test-and-learn approach. The latest breakthrough signals strong momentum toward industrial-scale implementation.
“Advancing circular ecosystems means bringing every member of the automotive value chain to the design table to solve recyclability challenges,” added Mauro Grotto, President of Italmetalli, a Gruppo Fiori company. “By combining our expertise in recovering and sorting vehicle materials with Dow’s depolymerization capabilities, we can restore the value of waste and deliver it back to the industry.”
This collaboration further strengthens Dow’s Renuva portfolio, which focuses on transforming waste streams into new raw materials through both mechanical and chemical recycling. With its technical capabilities and diverse materials science expertise, Dow MobilityScience continues to drive innovation that accelerates decarbonization, enhances electric vehicle performance and advances circularity in mobility worldwide.