Gert-Jan van der Have

According to Gert-Jan van der Have, the final processing of cars stands on the threshold of a new era. ‘Owing to stricter emissions requirements, manufacturers are incorporating more and more lightweight innovations into cars. In addition to that, the strategy worldwide is focusing on more electrified drives, particularly in inner-city transport. Research and investment focus primarily on specific parts of the life-cycle of a car but hardly ever take an integrated approach.’

A chain issue
‘The environmental impact of the new generation of cars may well be reduced during their operational life but it increases in the production and end-of-life phases,’ says Van der Have. ‘That’s why the world of car recycling will gradually change – it will have to. An that not only calls for technological development but, most of all, for a restructuring of the end-chain in order to finally be able to achieve recycling objectives – from dismantling to processing complex shredder waste flows.

The pressure to achieve lower emissions when the vehicle is driven creates problems in the recycling sector. And for ARN, every problem is a new challenge that we can’t wait to get our teeth into.’

Economic change
How easily can parts be reused? What is the residual value of an end-of-life car in relation to more expensive processing, but perhaps also higher materials prices in the future? What choices are manufacturers making in the design phase? How do we process high-voltage batteries? Is the effect of exports changing? In the S_Life project, Gert-Jan is looking for answers to these questions at ARN as part of an international joint venture. We use a unique, integrated method to identify challenges, make recommendations and formulate new research strategies for government, knowledge centres and industry.

If you would like to know more about this, please contact Gert-Jan van der Have.