In the context of profound changes in the automotive industry and an evolution towards the decarbonization of cars and mobility-as-a-service, the French automotive OEM Renault set a strategy to become a “circular mobility” provider and developed new preservation mechanisms to reduce exposure to scarcity for fleet electrification.

Renault reimagined an entire plant in Flins, France, and created the Refactory – an 11,000 m2 plant dedicated to its vehicle revalorization business models. The Refactory is Europe’s first circular economy factory dedicated to mobility. The plant has a four-pole structure: – Retrofit: extend vehicle life by repairing, remanufacturing and retrofitting – Re-energy: extend and optimize battery life and develop hydrogen-based mobility solutions – Recycle: valorize spare parts through remanufacturing of vehicle parts, material recycling and battery repairing – Restart: invest in systemic collaboration for innovation by establishing centres for process innovation, 3D printing and retrofitting, and creating an ecosystem with start-ups, academics and industrial partners.

By the end of 2021, the plant already had 700 employees, reconditioned over 1,500 vehicles and repaired 2,000 batteries. The plant will dismantle an average of 10,000 vehicles annually, recondition 45,000 vehicles per year by 2023 and repair 20,000 electrical batteries per year by 2030.