Envalior: Circular PA6 from End-of-Life Vehicles – Collaboration with Secara

At Fakuma 2026, Envalior will present its collaboration with Secara on the development of circular PA6 for automotive applications. The focus is on a chemical recycling process designed to convert plastic waste from end-of-life vehicles back into caprolactam, which can subsequently be reused for PA6 production.

The process is based on a catalytic depolymerization technology developed by Secara. It is designed to selectively break down engineering polymers from mixed and contaminated waste streams into their original molecules. According to the company, the process can also handle material streams containing glass fibers, flame retardants, other additives or contaminants. Secara is therefore specifically targeting waste from end-of-life vehicles, whose composition makes it only partially suitable for mechanical recycling.

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Initially focused on PA6, the process is intended to produce caprolactam from post-consumer waste at a quality suitable for direct use in existing polymerization processes. Envalior and Secara are pursuing a “drop-in” approach: the recovered monomer is intended to be incorporated into PA6 production without modifications to existing production facilities. Changes to component designs or qualification procedures are also to be avoided wherever possible.

According to the companies, they have already been working on the development for around a year. The collaboration has now been formalized through a letter of intent. The next step will be to test and validate processes for integrating the recovered caprolactam into engineering PA6 materials. One key focus will be on balancing the required monomer purity, material properties and process costs.

Requirements of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation in Focus
With this approach, the companies are responding to the planned requirements of the European End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR). According to Envalior, six years after the regulation enters into force, at least 15 percent of the plastics used in new vehicles will have to come from recycled sources. After ten years, this share is expected to increase to 25 percent.

In addition, 20 percent of the required recycled content is to come from closed-loop sources. This refers to plastics recovered from end-of-life vehicles or from vehicle parts removed during the use phase. Particularly for engineering plastics subject to demanding mechanical and thermal requirements, Envalior and Secara see chemical recycling processes as a complement to mechanical recycling.

The aim of the collaboration is therefore to make recovered caprolactam suitable for technically demanding automotive PA6 applications without significantly compromising the properties of the resulting materials compared with conventional PA6. In the longer term, the feedstock is intended to be used across Envalior’s PA6 portfolio for automotive applications.

In addition to the polymer content, the Secara process also addresses other components of the waste streams. For example, contained glass fibers are intended to be recovered and used as secondary raw materials.

Fakuma 2026
Friedrichshafen, Germany
October 12–16, 2026
Hall B4, Booth 4302

More information: envalior.com, www.secara.tech

Envalior GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany

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