A startup from Singapore has a recycling plan that prevents the most valuable parts of once-great airliners from ending up as deteriorating hulks in a junk heap.
Nandina REM intends to take high-quality aluminum and "advanced-engineered" materials from planes, turning them into electric vehicle battery casings and other products, according to Bloomberg and Nandina.
The company estimates that there are around 8,000 old aircraft rotting away in jungles, deserts, and other places around the world, with 15,000 more likely to join them within the decade.
"Reclaiming the valuable materials from these assets is a challenging process," CEO Karina Cady said in a video clip.
The company's roster includes experts with decades of experience in circular economies, the aviation industry, and research and development. Advisers include Debes Bhattacharyya, a "globally renowned" carbon fiber expert, as listed on Nandina's website.
Their goal is to cut a gigatonne (around 1.1 billion tons) of planet-warming air pollution by 2030 by recycling valuable materials from old planes.
There's enough aircraft aluminum to make tens of millions of battery casings. Plastics and other materials could be turned into more parts for cars. Carbon fiber is another high-tech material that the team is recycling, resulting in a strong product that cuts production pollution by 71%, all per the Bloomberg report and the company.
Nandina's concept was proved by reclaiming three large Boeing 767s. Cady told Bloomberg that 90% of the planes' expensive and advanced materials can be reused. Now they want to break down 40 aircraft as part of the growth plan.
"This needs to be able to hit volumes that can actually get sufficient offtake agreements. But the demand and the support is there, and it's been full-on chasing planes and ripping them apart," Cady said in the story.
The CEO told the news agency that it takes about 30 days to recycle a plane. Around two months later, the salvaged aluminum is an EV battery casing. One large plane could produce around 1,700 casings, preventing invasive mining for bauxite. The mineral is needed to make them from scratch, Cady added.
Air and water pollution, along with land degradation, are the main negative outcomes of harvesting bauxite. Most of it is mined in Australia, Guinea, and China, all according to ScienceDirect and data collector Statista.
The aviation industry produces about 2.5% of the planet's heat-trapping air pollution, as noted by Our World in Data. Hydrogen fuel, and even electric planes, are in development to address the exhaust fumes.
Nandina's solution creates a circular life for key commodities made up of the planes themselves.
"Where there are challenges, there lie opportunities, as well," Jonathan Low, coordinating director of R&D for the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Center in Singapore, said in the clip. The center is involved with the project.
It's a big effort that puts into practice something we can all do at home: recycle. Selling your old stuff online can even earn you cash, instead of filling a garbage dump, for example.
For Nandina's part, Bloomberg reports the company is already profitable as it begins to work with more advanced materials.
"This is just the start. Let the adventure begin," Cady said in the clip.
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