The all-new 2021 Nissan Rogue is the company’s first vehicle built using a closed-loop recycling system for aluminum parts. The system helps reduce CO2 emissions compared with using parts made with primary alloys. It also promotes the use of materials that don’t rely on newly mined resources, and reduces the amount of waste from factories.
The hood and doors of the 2021 Rogue are stamped from aluminum, contributing to reduced vehicle weight and helping improve fuel efficiency and power performance. The new Rogue is one of the most advanced Nissan SUVs and represents one of the most comprehensive model redesigns in the company’s history as part of their global transformation plan, Nissan NEXT. The four-year plan is focused on two strategic areas, building on Nissan’s reputation for innovation, craftsmanship, customer-focus, and quality, alongside an ongoing cultural transformation that embraces the future of EVs.
“Nissan must deliver value for customers around the world,” said Makoto Uchida, CEO. “To do this, we must make breakthroughs in the products, technologies and markets where we are competitive. In this new era, Nissan remains people-focused, to deliver technologies for all people and to continue addressing challenges.”
Closed-Loop Aluminum System
One of the ways Nissan is addressing the challenge of sustainability and lightweighting is by using a closed-loop aluminum recycling system for the new Rogue model. At the core of the closed-loop system is a large pneumatic conveyance system. As hoods and doors are stamped into shape, scrap material is shredded and extracted, keeping the different aluminum grades separate. The separation ensures that Nissan can return high-quality scrap to suppliers. The suppliers use the separated and reprocessed aluminum scrap to make aluminum alloy sheets and redeliver them to Nissan for use in production.
According to the Aluminum Association, recycling scrap aluminum saves more than 90% of the energy needed to create a comparable amount from raw materials. Under the Nissan Green Program 2022, Nissan aims to replace 30% of the raw materials used in cars built in 2022 with materials like recycled aluminum that don’t rely on newly mined sources. To achieve this, the company says it will use recycled materials and develop biomaterials, while using recycling during production, both at suppliers and in-house, and seeking to reduce the weight of car bodies.
The new Nissan Rogue model is built in Kyushu, Japan, and Smyrna, Tennessee. Nissan has collaborated with UACJ Corp. in Japan and Arconic Corp. and Novelis Inc. in the U.S to produce the aluminum for the vehicles.
