Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its Tomorrow XX technology programme, extending a sustainability-focused innovation framework across its entire product portfolio for the first time.
The programme builds on approaches previously demonstrated in concept vehicles such as VISION EQXX and CONCEPT AMG GT XX, and applies them more broadly to passenger cars regardless of model line or drivetrain. According to the company, Tomorrow XX focuses on decarbonisation, resource efficiency and circularity across the full vehicle lifecycle, from early design stages through to end-of-life.
Mercedes-Benz said the programme brings together development teams with suppliers, research institutions, recycling companies and start-ups to assess components and materials throughout the value chain. Areas under review range from batteries and bodyshells to interior materials and insulation, with an emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, increasing recycled content and improving recyclability.
As part of these efforts, the company is accelerating the development of an in-house battery recycling pilot plant in Kuppenheim, southern Germany. The facility is currently in the research and development phase and is intended to support closed-loop recycling of battery materials.
Within around two years, Mercedes-Benz said it has identified more than 40 new or redesigned components and materials that could reduce the carbon footprint of future series-production vehicles and increase the use of recycled content. These include concepts at varying stages of maturity, from early-stage development through to solutions already in series production.
“There can be no doubt that the overriding goal for all our products is to excite our customers while decarbonising the automobile, driving down resource use and growing the circular economy,” said Olaf Schick, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Integrity, Governance & Sustainability. “Innovation is a key route to achieving this and Tomorrow XX makes clear the huge strides we are taking. Together with our suppliers and partners, we are leading the way and embedding sustainability deep into our operational business and along the entire supply chain.”
The Tomorrow XX programme reflects Mercedes-Benz’s broader “Design for Environment” and “Design for Circularity” principles, which aim to reduce reliance on primary raw materials, increase recyclability and enable easier dismantling and separation of components at the end of a vehicle’s life. The company said a greater use of mono-materials, where feasible, could improve recycling outcomes compared with more complex material blends.
Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Chief Technology Officer for Development and Procurement, said the initiative applies a holistic approach to materials and component design across the group’s operations.
“Mercedes-Benz has always been an innovation powerhouse. With our ‘Design for Environment’ and ‘Design for Circularity’ approaches, we are rethinking literally every single component from scratch,” Burzer said. “The Tomorrow XX technology programme pushes this holistically across our entire product portfolio and value chain to the limits of what is possible.”
The company said advances in component and material design are intended to complement existing measures in manufacturing, including increased use of renewable energy at production sites and near-complete recycling rates in vehicle production. Mercedes-Benz has already established closed-loop recycling for steel scrap and plans to do the same for aluminium scrap.
