JLR: Recycling Seat Foam to Drive Sustainable Vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has achieved a significant milestone by incorporating recycled seat foam into its luxury vehicles, marking an industry-first step towards sustainability.

This innovation is part of the company’s broader mission to recycle and reuse materials, creating a circular production model.

Revolutionising automotive recycling

In partnership with Dow and Adient, JLR has developed a process to use recycled polyurethane foam in its seats. Polyurethane, a polymer with versatile applications including insulation and soundproofing, has traditionally been difficult to recycle.

Once discarded, it often ends up in landfill and can take generations to decompose.

JLR’s solution addresses this issue with a "circular seat" design, incorporating the recycled foam while maintaining the high performance expected in luxury vehicles. These seats are expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 44kg per seat—the equivalent of charging nearly 3,000 smartphones.

The innovative material forms part of JLR’s broader Circularity Lab initiative based in Gaydon, England. The lab focuses on reducing waste, lowering emissions and improving resource security by integrating recycled materials back into vehicle production. Testing of this sustainable seat foam is scheduled to begin in 2025.

The power of collaboration

The development of these recycled seats highlights the importance of collaboration. JLR is working with Dow’s MobilityScience division and global seating leader Adient to integrate closed-loop materials into the manufacturing process.

Initial trials with similar materials have already delivered measurable benefits. For example, front bumpers produced using reduced polymer content achieved the same quality and performance standards while saving 177,500kg of CO₂ emissions in a single model line. This initiative also cut costs by £560,000.

Jon Penrice, President of Mobility at Dow, says: “This collaboration highlights Dow's MobilityScience initiative to drive sustainable mobility through advanced material science.

"By leveraging our expertise and collaborating with Adient and JLR, we are developing technologies that support our net-zero carbon emissions and our circular and renewable solutions goals.”

He adds: “Through Dow's RENUVA™ sustainability programme, Dow addresses the growing demand for recycled materials by converting end-of-life waste into new raw circular materials.

"Through chemical and advanced recycling processes, this breakthrough depolymerisation closed-loop recycling solution meets the requirements and maintains the superior comfort and quality of JLR seats.”

A circular future for vehicles

JLR’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond seat foam.

The company’s Circularity Lab works to disassemble vehicles, identifying ways to return materials like aluminium, steel and polymers to the supply chain for reuse.

This approach not only reduces waste but also ensures that new vehicles meet the same high-quality standards as their predecessors.

Historically, vehicle design prioritised durability over end-of-life recycling. Components often use mixed materials or adhesives that are difficult to separate, complicating recycling efforts. By learning through dismantling vehicles and collaborating with material experts, JLR aims to overcome these challenges and design cars with circularity in mind.

Andrea Debbane, JLR’s Chief Sustainability Officer, explains: “I am so excited about the potential of this way of working. It represents a collective commitment to doing things differently, challenging us to rethink our approach from all angles to find the solutions needed to design and build the cars of the future.”

JLR’s dedication to closed-loop innovation is already yielding results.

A previous award-winning project recycled aluminium waste from manufacturing back into new body panels.

These efforts, combined with breakthroughs like the recycled seat foam, demonstrate the company’s ambition to lead in sustainable automotive production.

Mick Flanagan, Vice President Customer Group at Adient, says: “At Adient, we are proud to lead the change in integrating closed-loop recycled materials into our seating solutions.

"Our collaboration with JLR and Dow not only showcases our commitment to sustainability but also demonstrates how innovative partnerships can drive significant advancements in the automotive industry.

“By leveraging recycled polyurethane, we are setting new benchmarks for environmental responsibility while ensuring our products deliver the luxury and comfort our customers expect.”

Setting the standard for sustainability

Through its Circularity Lab and strategic collaborations, JLR is proving that circularity in vehicle production is achievable. By incorporating sustainable materials without compromising quality, the company is helping to redefine industry standards for environmental responsibility.

Andrea sums up this vision: “Close collaboration with experts from the recycling and materials science industries, with our supply chain partners and colleagues from design and engineering is key. We need to work as a collective value chain to unlock meaningful change at scale.”

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