A Data Context and Architecture for Automotive Recycling

Abstract

Automotive environmental and financial perspectives form important part pillars of the sustainability of the automotive sector. Coupled with increased pressure on automotive recycling quotas in various countries and constrained limits on various critical metals due to availability, sourcing and recyclability, a clear need for data-driven decision support arises. This paper investigates such a data-driven architecture in the context of European automotive recycling. The presented architecture is grounded in the context of reporting requirements, stakeholder interests and the legal landscape in the European Union. Various key data aspects are presented in terms of resource, market, environmental and assembly data sources. The availability of such publicly available data is a pervasive problem in this research domain with strategies for sourcing of such data throughout the production, use and recycling lifespan of the automobile presented. Key partners, such as recyclers and dismantlers, are included in the development of the architecture to ensure appropriate data sources are included and mappings between different data granularities are suitably accounted for in a data schema. Implementation and adoption strategies are briefly outlined together with recommendations for governmental support to encourage OEM participation and responsibility.