• At the Refactory Flins in Yvelines, The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub supports startups developing practical solutions to accelerate the circular economy and sustainable mobility.
• On June 25, the six startups from the 2026 cohort will complete six months of industrial and strategic support designed to help them scale faster.
• Battery refurbishment, robotics, circular logistics, and light electric mobility: these young companies demonstrate how innovation can contribute to the emergence of more sustainable mobility.
• The fourth cohort since the Hub’s launch in 2022, this edition confirms the Innovation Hub’s mission: transforming promising innovations into tangible industrial solutions.

The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub celebrates its fourth cohort. Over six months, six innovative young companies received industrial and strategic support designed to accelerate the development, testing, and industrialization of their solutions serving the circular economy and sustainable mobility.

Dedicated support for industrialization

Since its launch in 2022, the Innovation Hub has supported 40 startups. Its distinguishing feature lies in giving innovative young companies direct access to a fully operational industrial environment, The Future is NEUTRAL’s business expertise, and the infrastructure of Refactory Flins, helping accelerate their transition from prototype to industrialization.

Led by Nathalie Rey, the Innovation Hub primarily supports hardware startups whose innovations require testing, validation, and deployment under real-world conditions.

“Our mission at the Innovation Hub is clear: to transform promising ideas into concrete industrial solutions. We do more than support startups — we give them the means to scale and make a real impact on the circular economy.”

Nathalie Rey, Head of Innovation Hub, The Future is NEUTRAL

Six startups driving the circular economy and sustainable mobility

Four startups are developing solutions designed to streamline operations related to the circular economy:

• TOORE: a software platform dedicated to managing remanufacturing and refurbishment operations.
• DOCTIBIKE: diagnostic, repair, and battery refurbishment solutions for micromobility vehicles, including bikes, kick scooters, scooters and electric motorcycles.
• R3 ROBOTICS: robotic technologies designed for dismantling batteries and electric vehicles.
• ARCA Solutions: modular storage and secure transport solutions, particularly suited to future logistics needs related to lithium batteries.

Two other startups are developing sustainable mobility solutions with strong industrialization ambitions:

• MIDIPILE: pedal-powered electric micro-utility vehicles that require no driver’s license and can carry loads of up to 300 kg.
• KARBIKES: ultra-efficient hybrid vehicles, halfway between a bicycle and a car, designed to simplify everyday mobility for families and professionals.

Tangible benefits for startups

“Thanks to the Innovation Hub, we were able to quickly gain access to industry experts and identify an initial deployment scope for our solution within THE REMAKERS. The program’s ability to connect startups with the right stakeholders and accelerate decision-making represents tremendous value for a young company.”

Thibault Geoffray, CEO of TOORE

“Discovering the reuse ecosystem, particularly in Flins and within The Future is NEUTRAL, enabled us to identify new development and partnership opportunities. Exchanges with the other cohort members were also highly valuable, through the sharing of best practices, feedback, and open discussions about the challenges each of us faced.”

Sébastien Fossé, CEO of DOCTIBIKE

“The support provided by the Innovation Hub has been a real accelerator for our development. It helped us structure our collaboration with SUEZ and turn exploratory discussions into a potential concrete pilot project focused on automated battery disassembly. Exchanges with the teams were also invaluable in testing our solution against real-world conditions and industrial needs.”

Faysal Echaibi, Business Lead at R3 ROBOTICS

“The Innovation Hub enabled us to quickly test our solutions against real, large-scale use cases while validating their technical relevance. This experience also paved the way for initial commercial partnership discussions. Beyond the support itself, what we value most is the richness of the exchanges and the opportunity to build a strong network within the circular economy ecosystem.”

Ludovic Olivier, CEO of ARCA Solutions

“The support from the Innovation Hub enabled us to quickly challenge our project against the industrial realities of the circular economy. Beyond access to expertise and infrastructure, we particularly appreciated the quality of exchanges with the teams and the other startups in the cohort, which helped accelerate our development.”

Benoît Trouvé, CEO of MIDIPILE

“The Innovation Hub offers us support that evolves with our challenges, rather than a standardized program. Access to the resources and technical expertise of the Refactory is a major asset in accelerating our development. Finally, the opportunity to work on the industrialization of our solution with a leading automotive manufacturer provides tremendous credibility and acts as a powerful growth accelerator.

Lucas Vançon, CEO of KARBIKES 

Three levers to accelerate industrialization

Since its creation, the Innovation Hub has structured its support around three complementary services.

• Incubation program (6 months).
  The core of the model, this program supports technology startups working on circular economy and industrialization challenges:
  • Collective training on the fundamentals of the circular economy.
  • Development and validation of circular business models.
  • Awareness of life cycle assessment.
  • Support for scaling to industrial deployment.
  • Workshops, mentoring, and exchanges with investors and experts.
  • Access to offices, infrastructure, and technical expertise within the Hub.
• Manufacture as a Service.
  This service supports startups in bringing their solutions into production:
  • Technical and economic feasibility studies.
  • Deployment of production lines leveraging the existing industrial assets of the Refactory Flins.
  • Monitoring and support for industrial ramp-up and scaling.
• Hub as a Service.
  Startups and partners can access the Refactory’s infrastructure, expertise, and ecosystem to accelerate the development and validation of their projects in a real industrial environment.

Bringing tomorrow’s industrial solutions to life

Through its Innovation Hub, The Future is NEUTRAL helps bring forward the industrial solutions that will accelerate the transition to large-scale circular economy models. By supporting startups in moving from prototype to industrialization and by providing access to industrial capabilities in France, the company contributes to building an innovation ecosystem dedicated to more sustainable mobility.

A look back at three startups that benefited from the industrialization support program.

“Thanks to the industrial expertise of the Refactory Flins and the support of The Future is NEUTRAL, we were able to move from prototype to series production in a very short time. We started with two team members trained on our assembly line; today we are five to support our growth. For a startup like Virvolt, this is a real accelerator that enabled us to industrialize our product quickly and scale up with confidence.”

Yvan de La Baume, CEO of Virvolt

“This experience at the Refactory has been extremely valuable for Batconnect. Exchanges with the Flins teams helped us better understand the challenges of industrialization and make concrete progress in our production process. Beyond the expertise provided, Renault’s support is a real mark of credibility for a startup aiming to move from prototype to industrial scale.”

Jérémy Dulout, CEO of Batconnect

“The Refactory has enabled us to combine the agility of a startup with the industrial excellence of Renault Group. Thanks to access to the site’s expertise and infrastructure, we have accelerated our industrialization and strengthened our ability to scale production in Western Europe. More than just a support program, we have found a true partner, committed to working alongside us and supporting our growth.”

Indrek Petjärv, CEO of VOK Bikes

Call for applications

Startups in the circular economy and sustainable mobility: take your projects to the next level with The Future is NEUTRAL’s Innovation Hub. Tailored support to accelerate your growth, test your solutions, and develop your industrialization processes.

To learn more: https://www.thefutureisneutral.com/our-entities/neutral-hub-innovation/

Press contact

Isabelle Behar
Communication Director – The Future is NEUTRAL
isabelle.behar@thefutureisneutral.com
+33 6 08 71 63 31

• The Future is NEUTRAL, an expert in competitive automotive circular economy solutions, and GRDF, France’s leading gas distributor, announce the renewal of their partnership for an additional three years to recycle end-of-life fleet vehicles.
• Through its subsidiaries covering the entire value chain, including GAIA and INDRA, The Future is NEUTRAL collects, inspects, prepares, reuses, and recovers parts and materials from end-of-life vehicles in GRDF’s fleet.
• This partnership illustrates the growing momentum of a model that combines economic performance with traceability. It also helps improve the environmental impact associated with the end-of-life management of large automotive fleets.

“We chose The Future is NEUTRAL for its expertise and its ability to provide a comprehensive, reliable, and competitive solution. This partnership is part of our decarbonization strategy. As part of our commitment to lead by example, we are accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions linked to our activities and thereby reducing the company’s carbon footprint.”

Bertrand Camilli, Director of Real Estate and Mobility at GRDF

“We are delighted to count GRDF among our partners. As a leading player in the automotive circular economy in Europe, we support companies in managing the end-of-life vehicles of their fleets through an industrial and competitive approach. Our solutions address a strategic need for all fleet owners, large corporations, and leasing companies.”

Olivier Jean, Business Development and Partnerships Director at The Future is NEUTRAL

A partnership supporting the circular economy through a turnkey solution

GRDF has entrusted The Future is NEUTRAL with the management of its end-of-life vehicle fleet. Initiated in 2024, GRDF and The Future is NEUTRAL are renewing their partnership for a further three-year period. Each year, nearly 650 vehicles — representing around 10% of GRDF’s fleet — are collected.

To support GRDF, The Future is NEUTRAL relies on the expertise of GAIA and INDRA, enabling GRDF to benefit from six collection and vehicle processing sites located across France. The Future is NEUTRAL provides a comprehensive end-of-life vehicle management solution covering the entire value chain. It ensures traceability, data monitoring, and a streamlined process through a single point of contact.

A partnership structured around three key stages

The first stage involves the transfer and securing of vehicle data, including administrative traceability and team training. The second stage focuses on the operational management of flows, including information validation, rapid vehicle collection, followed by vehicle assessment and preparation. Finally, in the third stage, vehicles are either reused or recovered through resale or dismantling within the INDRA network, supported by full archiving and regulatory monitoring. GAIA provides GRDF with monthly reporting to measure the decarbonization performance of its fleet.

Press Contacts:

The Future is NEUTRAL
Isabelle Behar, Communications Director
isabelle.behar@thefutureisneutral.com
+33 6 08 71 63 31

GRDF
Press Office :
grdf-nat-presse@grdf.fr
+33 1 71 19 18 11

• Developed by The Future is NEUTRAL and operational since early 2025, AUTOLOOP is a digital platform for collecting recyclable materials: polypropylene, copper, platinum group metals, aluminium, etc.
• NEUTRAL is now expanding this platform to collect electric vehicle traction batteries, which contain strategic metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.
• AUTOLOOP thus becomes a single platform for managing the recycling of materials and batteries, designed for all end-of-life vehicle (ELV) centres: a competitive solution, rigorous traceability and immediate implementation.
• AUTOLOOP enables compliance with the new European Extended Producer Responsibility regulation, which, from August 2025, requires automotive manufacturers to finance the collection, ensure traceability and actively contribute to the recycling of electric vehicle traction batteries.

“Professionalisation and digitalisation of materials and battery collection: that is our purpose. AUTOLOOP is a unique platform designed to improve the recovery of end-of-life vehicles, ensuring simplicity, competitiveness and traceability.”

Antoine Chéreau, Business Developer – The Future is NEUTRAL

AUTOLOOP: how does it work?

• ELV centres collect end-of-life vehicles, whether they are petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid, as is the case with the INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING network, the leading ELV processing company in France.
• ELV centres deregister, secure and decontaminate them: removal of traction batteries, extraction of fluids, heavy metals and refrigerant gases, and neutralisation of pyrotechnic components (airbags or pretensioners).
  The ELV centre submits a collection request via AUTOLOOP for batteries from client brands (Individual System or eco-organisations that have chosen AUTOLOOP for the collection of their batteries).
• The ELV centre dismantles the vehicle and extracts parts for reuse and parts for material recycling.
  Parts intended for recycling are grouped into batches. For example, bumpers from ELVs (which cannot be reused as spare parts) are placed in containers. Once a minimum volume is reached – primarily to optimise transport costs – the ELV centre can offer its batch for sale on AUTOLOOP.
• To do this, on the AUTOLOOP platform, the ELV centre records the characteristics of the batches of parts and each battery:
  • Batches of parts: type, quality, packaging, weight or total quantity, etc.
    Once the quantity, quality and price have been agreed, the platform arranges collection and transport, as well as invoicing.
  • Battery: battery type, Battery Identification Number and Vehicle Identification Number (BIN and VIN), battery status, any damage, photos, etc.
    Following analysis, the platform arranges the supply of specific battery packaging and its transport to specialised facilities operated by NEUTRAL and its partners, where it is unloaded, dismantled and recycled in accordance with the objectives of European regulatory requirements.
  • AUTOLOOP complies with the requirements for closed-loop battery recycling, ensuring that strategic metals are recovered for reuse in new batteries.

AUTOLOOP and material recycling

AUTOLOOP and battery recycling

Boulogne-Billancourt, February 16, 2026 – Effective March 1st, 2026, Grégoire de Franqueville has been appointed CEO of The Future is NEUTRAL, a subsidiary of Renault Group and SUEZ dedicated to the automotive circular economy. With his extensive experience in the automotive industry, Grégoire de Franqueville will be tasked with continuing NEUTRAL’s strategy, which has been approved and supported by its shareholders. He will focus in particular on developing automotive recycling activities in Europe and internationally, serving all industry stakeholders.

Grégoire de Franqueville succeeds Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, who launched NEUTRAL’s pioneering adventure in 2022 and positioned the company as a leading player in the European automotive circular economy, serving all stakeholders. Competitiveness, environment, strategic independence, and innovation have been the driving forces behind his work over the past four years. Effective March 1st, Jean-Philippe Bahuaud will assume new responsibilities within the Renault Group as Program Director for the “B-Low” segment*, a strategic priority in the current automotive landscape. He will also represent the Renault Group on NEUTRAL’s Supervisory Board.

“I am deeply honored to join The Future is NEUTRAL at this pivotal moment for the automotive industry. Today, NEUTRAL has already structured robust solutions to develop the circular economy: dismantling of end-of-life vehicles, recovery of parts and materials, second life and repair, and recycling streams. Our priority, with the dedicated NEUTRAL team, remains to serve the entire automotive industry with increasingly competitive solutions for all stakeholders, in order to strengthen Europe’s strategic independence and our environmental contribution.”

Grégoire de Franqueville

“Building and guiding The Future is NEUTRAL towards achieving its objectives is a real source of pride. The company’s financial performance, unique positioning, and robust strategic plan provide the necessary conditions to embark on the second phase of its transformation. As I take on the role of Program Director for the Clio, R5, Sandero, and other city cars of the Renault Group brands, I will focus on strengthening, in collaboration with the brands, the competitiveness and appeal of these key vehicles at the heart of their markets, which remain essential for the mobility of millions of customers in Europe.”

Jean-Philippe Bahuaud

A graduate of École Centrale de Nantes, Grégoire de Franqueville began his career at Michelin before joining Renault Group. After ten years in engineering management, he led the Qashqai and X-Trail programs at Nissan in Japan. He then held various positions within Renault Group and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, notably in business development and international strategy. Following his leadership of the Horse project, Grégoire de Franqueville took on responsibility for strategy, partnerships, and business development for Renault Group’s Light Commercial Vehicles division before joining NEUTRAL.

* including the R5, Clio, Twingo, and Sandero

Press contact – The Future is NEUTRAL

Isabelle Behar – Communication Director
isabelle.behar@thefutureisneutral.com
+33 6 08 71 63 31

Villefontaine, February 9, 2026 – Effective February 6, 2026, Xavier Kaufman has been appointed Chairman and CEO of INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Future is NEUTRAL (NEUTRAL) and a leading player in the processing and recycling of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in France.

He succeeds Florence Bailleul, whose work since 2023 has enabled a significant strategic shift for the company.

In his new role, Xavier Kaufman will also continue to lead the development of dismantling activities in Europe for The Future is NEUTRAL, in a context of accelerating market growth for recycled parts and increasing regulatory requirements.

This new organization reinforces NEUTRAL’s ambition to offer a competitive and efficient service to all stakeholders in the ecosystem: insurers, manufacturers, networks, suppliers, and distributors.

“I am honored to take over the leadership of INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING at a pivotal moment for our industry. Our clients—insurers, manufacturers, and partners—expect reliable and competitive industrial solutions focused on their needs. With the strength of the INDRA network, the commitment of our teams, and the support of The Future is NEUTRAL, we will further enhance operational excellence, accelerate our development, and continuously improve the value of end-of-life vehicles and expand the use of recycled parts, ultimately benefiting the entire market.”

Xavier Kaufman, Chairman and CEO of INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING

Xavier Kaufman has over 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, in France, Europe, and Asia. After beginning his career in auditing, he held several management positions in sales, after-sales, and distribution networks, leading the operational and commercial development of these sectors. For over ten years, he has been involved in the automotive circular economy—reused parts, remanufacturing, and material recovery—and has helped structure solutions that combine industrial performance with sustainability goals.

He joined The Future is NEUTRAL at the end of 2022 as Chief Business Officer, responsible for the strategic development of circular economy activities.

Since February 6, 2026, he has been Chairman and CEO of INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEUTRAL.

Press Contact – The Future is NEUTRAL

Isabelle Behar – Head of Communications
isabelle.behar@thefutureisneutral.com
+33 6 08 71 63 31

The Future is NEUTRAL, a leader in the automotive circular economy in Europe, announces the signing of an agreement to acquire a strategic 30% stake in Pollini Group, the leading Italian player in the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELV). This transaction represents a long-term investment project and a key step in NEUTRAL’s European expansion strategy; the synergy with Pollini Group will support this development in the Italian market.

Together, The Future is NEUTRAL and Pollini Group aim to develop a national network in Italy, built in collaboration with the most high-performing dismantling centers, to be offered to all carmakers operating in the Italian market. The objective is to structure a more efficient and industrialized ELV sector, fully prepared to meet the requirements of the upcoming European regulation on end-of-life vehicles.

Pollini Group will continue to serve all automotive brands and, through this agreement, will strengthen its ability to develop competitive solutions for these players. With unique coverage across much of Northern Italy, Pollini has established itself as a sector leader thanks to its industrialized organization, one of the most digitized infrastructures in the country, and its well-established operational expertise.

Already well established in ELV processing in France through its subsidiary INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING, The Future is NEUTRAL continues its expansion across Europe to support manufacturers, networks, ELV centers, and insurers in the optimal, transparent, and sustainable management of end-of-life vehicles.

“Our European expansion strategy is on the way. Entering the Italian market represents a major step towards building a coherent European platform capable of meeting the new regulatory requirements expected from 2027. Our investment in Pollini Group, the champion in the Italian market, is a key asset for synergies in circular economy and expansion with the best players in Italy.”

Xavier Kaufman, Chief Business Officer, The Future is NEUTRAL

“Thanks to the partnership with The Future is NEUTRAL, we will consolidate our growth in the Italian market. The synergies with this European network will allow us to continuously enhance our know-how and ensure ever-higher performance in reuse, recycling, and recovery, with full traceability.”

Simone Pollini, CEO Pollini Group

Building a stronger, more circular, and more industrialized ELV (End-of-Life Vehicle) sector together

The acquisition opens the door to numerous synergies between Pollini Group and The Future is NEUTRAL:

• Industrialization of dismantling processes, inspired by best practices developed in France and Italy.
• Increased operational capacity to support manufacturers and insurers, thanks to expanded geographic coverage and shared operational standards.
• More efficient solutions for the reuse and recycling of materials, reducing the environmental impact of vehicles.
• Development of a European ecosystem for electric vehicles, ensuring traceability, compliance, and optimal recovery of vehicles and batteries.

Accelerating the adaptation of the sector to European requirements

With the upcoming European ELV regulation and the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), higher levels of recycling and reuse performance, traceability, and circularity will be required. The alliance between NEUTRAL and Pollini Group aims to offer a competitive industrial solution for all automotive players.

By combining Pollini’s local expertise with NEUTRAL’s European experience, the collaboration will strengthen material circularity, promote the use of reused parts, and enhance the sector’s contribution to automotive recycling in Europe.

The goal is to create a European model capable of sustainably structuring a sector that is essential to the environmental transition of the automotive industry.

Pollini Group: Italian leader in end-of-Life Vehicle Recycling

Pollini Group is a leading Italian operator in automotive recycling and the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELV). Founded over 40 years ago as a family-owned business, the group has grown to become one of the main players in the Italian market, with several industrial sites concentrated in Northern Italy.

The company covers the entire end-of-life vehicle value chain, from collection and depollution to dismantling, material recovery, and resale of used spare parts. The Group has made significant investments to ensure its operations comply with European environmental regulations.

Advanced recycling technologies enable high recovery rates of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, and rubber, contributing to sustainability and the circular economy. By combining industrial scale, operational efficiency, and environmental responsibility, Pollini Group processes tens of thousands of vehicles per year and is well positioned to address future challenges, from electric vehicle recycling to increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.

• The Future is NEUTRAL operates the first Individual System in France for the end-of-life management of Renault Group Electric Vehicles Batteries, following approval published in the Official Journal on November 28, 2025.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been applicable to the recycling of EV Batteries since August 2025 and requires producers to join a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) or implement an Individual System by demonstrating a control of the end-to-end value chain, in order to secure their access to recycled materials.
• Already operating the Individual System for the management of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) for 15 automotive brands in France, The Future is NEUTRAL now also manages the end-of-life of batteries.
• The Future is NEUTRAL relies in particular on its subsidiary INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING, an expert in the ELVs treatment as well as in the diagnosis and securing of EV Batteries, in order to direct them towards the most competitive recycling channels, with the support of its partners and its shareholder SUEZ, specialist in recycling and waste recovery.

“This first approval reinforces our belief in the competitiveness of our Individual System offer for the end-of-life management of electric vehicle batteries. Leveraging the complementary expertise of our subsidiaries and partners, we offer our circular economy solutions to all automotive manufacturers.”

Yann Velluet, VP Business Batterie

The Challenges of Battery End-of-Life: An Economic and Environmental necessity

Faced with economic, environmental, and sovereignty challenges, the circular economy is emerging as a key driver in the transformation of the automotive industry. Committed to this transition, The Future is NEUTRAL develops solutions to support the end-of-life management of batteries and guarantee their recycling and recovery.

Lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles are made of strategic metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These materials are essential for the transition to low-carbon mobility, but their availability remains limited in Europe. Limiting this dependence is essential to guarantee European sovereignty.

The growing demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel exacerbates supply tensions that have already existed for several years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) emphasizes in a report published in May 2025 that demand for these materials could increase three to sixfold by 2040, a growth driven in particular by the rise of electric vehicles and portable devices.

Repair and reuse before recycling batteries

The lifespan of an electric vehicle battery is currently estimated at over 15 years.

The Future is NEUTRAL relies on its subsidiary GAIA to repair batteries and keep them in vehicles for as long as possible: over 90% of defective batteries can be repaired, and more than 18,000 batteries have already been repaired by GAIA since 2012.

The battery doesn’t end with its automotive life. When its remaining capacity is no longer compatible with automotive use, or if it is still functional at the end of the vehicle’s life, GAIA can also prepare it for new uses: stationary storage or other mobility applications.

Recycling Batteries

Since August 2025, the new European Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations requires car manufacturers to finance the collection, ensure traceability, and actively contribute to the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. These obligations are part of an ambitious European framework, with progressively stricter recycling targets.

In this perspective, The Future is NEUTRAL and its partners are participating in the development of a closed-loop European battery recycling sector, in order to reintegrate recycled metals into new batteries as required by European regulation from 2031.

The Future is NEUTRAL contributes to this challenge by offering management of all operations necessary for recycling:

• Before being recycled, batteries from end-of-life electric vehicles (ELVs) are first removed from the vehicle following a precise procedure that guarantees quality and safety.
• These operations are carried out by ELV dismantling centers that handle and process electric or hybrid vehicles, such as those in the INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING network, a leader in ELV processing in France.
• They are then collected and transported safely in dedicated packaging to specialized facilities where they are discharged, dismantled, and recycled according to the objectives of the European regulations.

• From October 14^th to 18^th, 2025, The Future is NEUTRAL showcases its competitive solutions dedicated to automotive circular economy at the international EQUIP AUTO trade show. COLLECTING, DISMANTLING end-of-life vehicles, REUSING, REMANUFACTURING, RECYCLING parts and materials to REINTRODUCE them into the automotive life cycle: this is the strategic mission of NEUTRAL, the only company in Europe to provide this complete offer to all industry stakeholders.
• On this occasion, NEUTRAL, together with its subsidiary THE REMAKERS, receives the Innovation Award in the category “Energy Transition, Sustainable Development, Circular Economy.” This recognition is a European premiere: the complete remanufacturing of an electric vehicle powertrain, including the motor and power electronics. This innovation offers an average price of 30% lower than a new equivalent, developed in partnership with Renault Group and soon with other manufacturers, supported by Valeo and AUMOVIO Engineering Solutions.
• Meet NEUTRAL and its subsidiaries:
  • INDRA AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING, a major industrial player in the treatment and recovery of end-of-life vehicles (ELV), is celebrating 40 years of expertise and innovation with the capacity to connect a unique ecosystem: insurance partners, manufacturers, ELV centers, and a locally rooted network, enabling the recovery of thousands of vehicles and millions of parts each year.
  • THE REMAKERS, a pioneer since 1949 and now a European reference in the remanufacturing of automotive parts for internal combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles, provides refurbished components that are both cost-effective and equivalent in quality to new parts.
  • GAIA, an expert in material recycling, battery repair, and parts recovery, will inaugurate a vehicle dismantling centre in Flins at the end of the year, with the support of INDRA.
• Building on several decades of experience from its subsidiaries, NEUTRAL also provides circular economy consulting services for all stakeholders, from strategic design to operational implementation. At EQUIP AUTO, NEUTRAL unveils a new initiative: “The Remanufacturing Learning Expedition.”

“The innovation award granted by EQUIP AUTO highlights the relevance of our competitive approach to circular economy in the automotive sector. Our next step is to scale up and engage with all industry stakeholders. We need to keep innovating to deliver new cost-effective automotive recycling solutions, enabling us to continue relying on cars for mobility without depleting the planet, while ensuring Europe’s strategic sovereignty. The values shared by the 600 employees of our group are competitiveness, innovation, sovereignty, and of course, environmental responsibility.”
Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, CEO – The Future is NEUTRAL

• Meet the experts of The Future is NEUTRAL and its subsidiaries at EQUIP AUTO: Hall 2.2, Stand B098, Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. 
• Attend the round tables with The Future is NEUTRAL and its subsidiaries at EQUIP AUTO:
  • Tuesday, October 14^th – 10:30 am to 11:15 am – Circular Economy Village: Roundtable on the Concentration of End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) centres, with Florence Bailleul, CEO of INDRA, a NEUTRAL subsidiary.
  • Tuesday, October 14^th – 3 pm to 3:40 pm – ARENA Hall 1: Roundtable on Reused Parts, with Laurent Assis-Arantès, CEO of OPISTO, a subsidiary of INDRA / NEUTRAL.
  • Wednesday, October 15^th – 10:30 am to 12:00 pm – ARENA Hall 1: Grand Forum, Round table Circular Economy, with Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, CEO of NEUTRAL.
  • Friday, October 17^th – 10:30 am to 11:15 am – Energy Village: Roundtable on Battery Repairability, with Laurent Claude, Technical Director of NEUTRAL.
  • Friday, October 17^th – 2 pm to 2:45 pm – ARENA Hall 1: Conference on Remanufacturing, with Rafael Treguer, CEO of THE REMAKERS, a NEUTRAL subsidiary.

> Learn more about The Future is NEUTRAL, its subsidiaries, and the automotive circular economy by discovering our PRESS KIT below <

The collaboration aims to advance industrial production of automotive skin aluminium alloy with recycled content over 95%.

• Novelis and The Future Is NEUTRAL have joined forces to scale up the industrial production of a circular aluminium alloy containing over 95% recycled content – including more than 50% post-consumer scrap from end-of-life vehicles.
• By integrating greater volumes of post-consumer scrap into the automotive value chain, the collaboration between Novelis and The Future Is NEUTRAL aims to pioneer a new era of circularity in the automotive industry.

ZURICH/ BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, June 26, 2025 – Novelis Inc., a leading sustainable aluminium solutions provider and world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, and The Future Is NEUTRAL, the first 360° circular economy enterprise in the automotive world, announced their collaboration on a circular end-of-life recycling solution. This partnership aims to push the boundaries of recycled content in automotive aluminium sheet to at least 95%, including a minimum of 50% scrap from end-of-life vehicles.

Novelis already supplies carmakers with products made from up to 85% recycled aluminium for outer skin panels and forming-critical applications in vehicles. Building on this success, the partnership between Novelis and The Future Is NEUTRAL seeks to achieve even higher recycled content, leveraging The Future Is NEUTRAL’s expertise in sourcing and segregating end-of-life vehicle scrap.

“At Novelis, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of high recycled content aluminium and reducing the carbon footprint of our solutions,” says Michael Hahne, Vice President, Commercial, Novelis Europe. “By 2030, we aim for 75% average recycled content in our products and to be the lowest emissions flat rolled products (FRP) aluminium provider with less than 3 tonnes CO₂ emissions per tonne of FRP. Collaborations with strong partners like The Future Is NEUTRAL are crucial to achieving these goals by retrieving greater volumes and high-quality aluminium scrap from end-of-life vehicles.”

“Aluminium is an excellent material for reducing the weight of vehicles and batteries,” adds Xavier Kaufman, Chief Business Officer, The Future Is NEUTRAL. “Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy required for primary aluminium production and reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 90%. The automotive industry is increasingly seeking competitive solutions to source low-carbon aluminium. Our goal is to provide them with circular recycled materials sourced from end-of-life vehicles. Our partnership with Novelis enables us to combine our expertise in automotive circularity to serve this purpose and position both companies at the forefront of this initiative.”

Novelis and The Future Is NEUTRAL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance the industrialization of their recycling solution. The partners aim to integrate sufficient volumes of valuable automotive aluminium feedstock from end-of-life vehicles into the value chain to meet the needs of the automotive industry and prevent downcycling.

The companies are jointly seeking to further optimize the quantity and quality of post-consumer automotive aluminium scrap, as well as its transformation processes. The Future Is NEUTRAL has expertise in the collection, dismantling and sorting of end-of-life materials, including aluminium, whilst Novelis is a world leader in aluminium recycling and supplier of innovative, low-carbon aluminium products with high recycled content.

The shared objective is to build a competitive industrial offering of high-recycled-content aluminium automotive sheet made with a maximum of post-consumer scrap from end-of-life vehicles, able to supply the European automotive industry for mass production.

• The Future Is NEUTRAL is strengthening its capabilities in the collection, processing, and recovery of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) with the opening, before the end of the year, of a Dismantling Center at the Flins Refactory (Yvelines, France), with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles per year.

• This Dismantling Center will complement the circular economy ecosystem established at the Refactory, making it a unique platform in Europe that brings together all the necessary expertise for processing damaged vehicles.

• Thanks to an industrialized process, the Flins Dismantling Center will be able to extract more than 25 parts per vehicle and process over 14 different materials for recycling.

June 6, 2025 – The Future Is NEUTRAL continues to strengthen its position across the automotive circular economy value chain by expanding its capabilities in the collection, processing, and recovery of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). These essential activities within the circular economy value chain help supply reused parts and materials to be recycled.

A Dismantling Centre will complete the circular economy ecosystem developed by The Future Is NEUTRAL at the Flins Refactory, and will create, in a first phase, 20 jobs. Upon its launch, it will benefit from INDRA’s full expertise in deconstruction engineering and training in ELV processing professions. The center will then be operated by GAIA, a subsidiary already established at the Flins Refactory.

« ELVs represent a key raw material for us, enabling the automotive sector to be supplied with the parts and materials it needs to operate—without depleting natural resources. The Flins Dismantling Center not only strengthens our ELV processing capabilities but also allows us to establish short closed-loop by feeding into our other circular economy activities based at the Refactory in Flins. This meets the demands and expectations of various clients, including repair professionals and insurers, in terms of performance, service quality, and environmental standards. »
Xavier Kaufman, Chief Business Officer, The Future Is NEUTRAL and VP, Refactory

A Dismantling Center Designed for Optimal Efficiency

The Flins Dismantling Center will be equipped with a range of expertise enabling it to:

• Industrialize deconstruction, with a 7-station line capable of dismantling 7,000 ELVs per year, using a process that meets the highest standards in safety, ergonomics, and environmental requirements.
• Assess ELVs and maximize their recoveryby optimizing the extraction of reusable parts (over 25 parts per ELV) and recyclable materials (over 14 materials processed and recycled).
• Receive vehicles 24/7.
• Manage on-site vehicle storage.
• Handle the administrative destruction of ELVs and ensure traceabilityof extracted parts and materials.
• Process all types of vehicles, including electric vehicles, by leveraging the advanced diagnostic capabilities of the Battery Repair Expert Center operated by GAIA in Flins.
• Manage the reuse of parts, including sorting, protection, storage, photography, and online listing—particularly on the partner platform Opisto (with a storage capacity of 50,000 parts references).

The Refactory, the First Comprehensive Circular Economy Ecosystem in Europe

The Refactory brings together on a single site all the activities required to process damaged vehicles.
At the heart of this ecosystem, the Dismantling Center will operate in full synergy with the site’s various activities:

• on-site deconstruction of vehicles that are technically or economically irreparable, in coordination with the vehicle repair activities (“the bodywork factory”)
• supply of reused parts to the damaged vehicle repair activities (“the bodywork factory”) and the used vehicles reconditioning (“the renew factory”)
• supply of repairable parts to the parts repair department
• supply of components intended for remanufacturing (The Remakers)
• supply of materials for recycling to support closed-loop systems (GAIA)
• diagnosis and recycling of batteries, drawing on the expertise of the Battery Repair Expert Center in Flins (GAIA)