Electric vehicles are great for our environment, but what happens to vehicles at the end of their life cycle? Are they truly good for our environment if buried in landfills? I am bringing to your attention an innovative solution that is revolutionizing the automotive industry and addressing the pressing issue of sustainable vehicle recycling.

Carbon Rivers, a Certified Small Business headquartered in Knoxville, TN, has successfully developed an ESG upcycled glass fiber circular economy for all composite industry sectors, focusing on the automotive industry. Carbon Rivers is transforming the way vehicles are recycled by taking composite materials from car parts and reusing them instead of sending them to landfills.

Vehicles made from non-recyclable materials strengthened by glass fibers end up in landfills after retirement, posing a significant challenge to the sustainability of electric vehicles and the automotive industry. However, Carbon Rivers’ technology offers a practical and responsible method for reusing these materials at the end of their lifecycle. Through its glass-to-glass (G2G) process, these materials can be reborn into sustainable, recyclable composites.

In addition to its groundbreaking technology, Carbon Rivers is excited to partner with industry leaders and collaborators to demonstrate upcycled glass fiber composite moldings and showcase its capabilities with advanced technologies. They have even converted a Mazda RX-8 from a petrol-driven car to a fully electric-powered supercar, achieving remarkable performance improvements. And even parts of the EV Mazda are from a recycled wind turbine blade. Additionally, Carbon Rivers takes EV end-of-life batteries, recovers the graphite within the batteries, and then deploys the graphene into the subsequent life cycle manufacturing like new batteries- a truly sustainable lifecycle.

With its expertise in EV batteries, automotive composites, and automotive coatings, Carbon Rivers commercializes advanced materials and technologies. Currently, they are seeking funding with their ANC partner to develop a post-industrial and post-consumer glass fiber recovery scale-up for composite manufacturers. Imagine an end-of-life wind blade or glass fiber manufacturing scrap going into your next vehicle.