Mocom: Award for sustainable underbody paneling from end-of-life vehicles – Cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, HKS, and Autoneum

Mercedes-Benz, in collaboration with Mocom, HKS (TSR Group), and Autoneum, has developed a sustainable underbody paneling component for vehicles that is entirely based on a post-consumer recyclate from end-of-life vehicles. The central material in this application is Mocom's "Wipaflex PCR-PP-GF20" compound, a glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene with a 100 percent recyclate content derived from plastic fractions of the shredder light fraction.

The use of the PCR material is expected to reduce the component's CO₂ footprint by over a third compared to conventional virgin plastic. The raw materials used come from end-of-life vehicle recycling and were supplied by HKS. The recovered recyclate was processed by Mocom into a high-quality compound suitable for large-volume automotive components.

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The "Wipaflex" compound is produced at Mocom's location in Gardelegen. As part of the project, Autoneum further processed it into a functional underbody panel using the LFT-D (Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics Direct Process) compression molding process. Mercedes-Benz uses the components manufactured in this way in series production vehicles.

On October 14, 2025, the project was honored with the "Materialica Design + Technology Award" in the "Process" category. The jury particularly recognized the innovative integration of post-consumer recyclates from end-of-life vehicle recycling into a technically demanding component, as well as the contribution to promoting the circular economy and CO₂ reduction in automotive production.

The project is considered an example of the successful implementation of circular economy principles on a large industrial scale and a model for future material solutions in the field of sustainable mobility.

More information:
www.mocom.eu, www.autoneum.com/de, www.mercedes-benz.de, www.tsr.eu

Mocom Compounds GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg