Why Mercedes-Benz is really making a difference with Tomorrow XX
Tomorrow XX – Mercedes-Benz has once again invited us to provide insights into current innovations – this time with a clear focus on sustainability, the circular economy and material thinking. One year after the last event, which focused on the future of mobility as a whole, I am suitably excited: What new answers have been found? Which ideas have been taken further? And what has changed in concrete terms since then?
“Innovation for 140 years” is the motto of the evening. A sentence that sounds like tradition – and yet looks to the future. Because what Mercedes-Benz under the title Tomorrow XX is not a single concept car or a short-term PR idea. It is a program that rethinks the car from the first sketch to the end of its life – as a system.
Since 2022, over 40 sustainable component and material concepts have been developed together with start-ups, suppliers and research partners – in just two years. Recycling is not seen as a bonus, but as a basic principle: recover as much as possible, reuse as much as possible and, where possible, significantly reduce the carbon footprint – in some cases by up to 70%.
Sustainability starts with thinking
“If we don’t take the big steps now, we won’t reach our targets for 2039,” says Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement and Supplier Quality
Mercedes-Benz AG. This refers to the goal of CO₂ neutrality over the entire life cycle. This is precisely where Tomorrow XX comes in – with two guiding principles: Design for Environment and Design for Circularity.
Mercedes-Benz AG (Photo: Mirella SIdro)
This sounds abstract at first, but in essence it is a fairly concrete list of questions. Every component has to justify itself:
- How much material do you really need?
- Can it be repaired, dismantled, recycled?
- And will the part ideally become a resource for the next vehicle at the end of its life?
The claim behind it is uncomfortable – and that is precisely why it is exciting: sustainability should not be a compromise at Mercedes-Benz. Quality, safety, design and comfort remain key. Mercedes Tomorrow XX
Monomaterials instead of bonding
One lever lies in the choice of materials. Instead of complicated composite materials, Mercedes-Benz is increasingly relying on monomaterials – components from a single material family that can be recycled by type. The circular economy is only really possible when you don’t have to forcefully tear apart what was previously glued together “forever”.
Technically, this is made possible by new thermoplastic riveted joints that can be loosened again. What used to be glued is now screwed or plugged together. This simplifies repairs, reduces costs – and also improves recyclability. Small design changes, big impact.
Repairing instead of replacing: the recyclable headlight
This becomes tangible with the example of headlights: instead of permanently bonded units, the lens, housing, electronics and frame consist of individually detachable modules. A stone chip then no longer means “everything new”, but rather: just replace the cover lens. This would not only be more sustainable, but also simply more suitable for everyday use – and significantly cheaper for customers.
At the same time, the recycling quality increases: the modules each consist of one material and can be recycled by type. In the future, the proportion of recycled material could be almost doubled and the CO₂ footprint almost halved compared to today’s headlights.
Urban mining: today’s Mercedes as a source of raw materials
“At the end of their life, materials should not be the problem, but the resource.” With this mindset, Mercedes-Benz is pursuing the principle of urban mining. Together with the TSR Group, a pilot take-back site for end-of-life vehicles is being built in north-west Germany to recover steel, aluminum and plastics in a targeted manner – and return them to new vehicles.
In the long term, up to 40 percent recycled material should be possible in new vehicles. Individual aluminum components already achieve up to 86 percent post-consumer material – for example from old rims, window frames or body parts.
Rethinking aluminum and steel
Aluminum and steel are CO₂ heavyweights. Mercedes-Benz is making several adjustments here: renewable energies in production, higher scrap quotas and new processes.
In the new CLA, 40 percent of the aluminum already comes from electrolysis plants powered by renewable energy – this saves around 400 kilograms of CO₂ per vehicle. In the case of steel, we are moving away from blast furnaces and towards hydrogen-based direct reduction and electric arc furnaces: the result is savings of up to 60 percent CO₂, with the prospect of significantly more.
Waste becomes high-tech
Tomorrow XX also shows how “waste” suddenly takes on value: used tires provide pyrolysis oil for plastics from which components are made – and even a biotechnologically produced leather alternative that is lighter, more robust and has around 40 percent less CO₂ footprint than real leather.
Airbags also get a second life: Their glass fiber-reinforced polyamide is suitable for highly stressed components in thermal management – exactly where material really has to withstand something.
Recycled brake pads: up to 85 percent less CO₂
One particularly powerful lever is hidden in an invisible everyday component: brake pads. Used components are collected and recycled via a take-back system (MeRSy). In a new concept, up to 40 percent of waste from old brake pads can be recycled into new pads – with CO₂ savings of up to 85 percent. This is complemented by a backing plate made from CO₂-reduced steel. Still pilot – but with an unusual amount of substance.
Underbody cladding made from recycled mixed plastics
Another step towards a closed loop: underbody cladding made from recycled plastics from end-of-life vehicles – from the so-called shredder light fraction, which was often thermally recycled in the past. If this material goes back into the cycle, the CO₂ footprint of the component could be reduced by up to 40 percent. The component received the Materialica Award in 2025 (“Process” category) and is about to go into series production.
BIONICAST®: When nature becomes an engineer
Not only materials, but also construction is being rethought. With BIONICAST® – a bionic optimization approach – material is used in the same way as nature does: only where it is structurally necessary. The result: lighter, resource-saving components that still meet safety and series requirements. Compared to conventional designs, up to 25 percent less weight and material can be used.
The battery as a key – and Kuppenheim as a signal
The battery remains the biggest CO₂ lever. Mercedes-Benz obliges cell suppliers to use green electricity, researches dry coating of electrodes and avoids environmentally critical solvents such as NMP. At the same time, the proportion of recycled cathode and anode materials is increasing.
And then there is Kuppenheim: the construction of its own battery recycling pilot plant as a milestone towards a closed recycling loop – before the battery volume actually becomes a problem in the coming years. According to CEO Jörg Burzer, this is Europe’s first plant of its kind – and the first in the world to be operated by a car manufacturer.
Step by step into the series
Around 75 percent of the components come from external partners – sustainability only works here in combination. Tomorrow XX is therefore not a finished product, but a process: some innovations are already in series production, others are about to go into production and others are still being researched.
The future of mobility will not be created by a single big leap.
But by many precise decisions.
Perhaps this is where the rise of a new Mercedes star begins. And this is where the real innovation lies.
At Mercedes-Benz, thinking about the future cannot be separated from history. Here, mobility has always been a question of courage. When Bertha Benz drove 105 kilometers from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the Patent Motor Car No. 3 on 5 August 1888, she did more than just make history: she was an investor, business partner and engineer, invented brake pads along the way, organized fuel from pharmacies and solved technical problems for which no solutions yet existed. Her drive made the automobile visible – and marketable. The fact that her contribution was overlooked for decades is just as much a part of this story as the late recognition. It was precisely this combination of historical responsibility and future-oriented thinking that was tangible at Tomorrow XX: Sustainable mobility means not only new drives, but the courage to question systems – and to make change measurable.
💛 Support independent journalism on lelaswelt.de
All content on this site is created with a great deal of passion, research and personal commitment – independently, free of advertising and with the aim of telling authentic stories.
If you liked this article and would like to support my work, I would be happy to receive a small donation. Every contribution helps to continue this platform and make new stories possible.
If you liked this article and would like to support my work, I would be happy to receive a small donation. Every contribution helps to continue this platform and make new stories possible.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=D2F3JDD9ZNMZ4
