Seat and Cupra Launch Circular Economy Hub in Barcelona to Boost Sustainability
Seat and Cupra open a new Circular Economy Hub in Barcelona, focusing on vehicle part reuse and recycling as part of their sustainability goals.
- • Seat and Cupra invested 4.85 million euros to create the Circular Economy Hub in Barcelona's Zona Franca.
- • The facility dismantles vehicles and recovers parts for reuse, recycling, or refurbishment.
- • The hub received additional funding from the Circular Economy PERTE and EU recovery funds.
- • Seat aims to reduce waste by 60% by 2025 and achieve zero waste by 2050, targeting carbon neutrality by 2040/2050.
Key details
Seat and Cupra have inaugurated a Circular Economy Hub in Barcelona’s Zona Franca, aimed at advancing vehicle part dismantling, recovery, reuse, and recycling. This initiative forms part of their broader sustainability transformation and commitment to reduce environmental impact. The companies invested 4.85 million euros to retrofit the former Workshop 7 into this specialized facility, which also benefited from 1.32 million euros via the Circular Economy PERTE fund and subsidies under the European Union’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (NextGenerationUE).
The hub is already operational, focusing on dismantling vehicle parts from various models and prototypes before mass production. Components recovered are either reused in new cars, recycled, or refurbished for resale through external partners, providing eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions to customers. In the medium term, Seat and Cupra plan to expand the hub’s activities to include additional circular economy initiatives.
This project supports Seat’s sustainability targets: cutting waste sent to treatment plants by 60% by 2025 relative to 2010 and achieving zero waste by 2050. Since 2010, the company has reduced CO₂ emissions from its facilities by 75% and is targeting carbon neutrality at its production sites by 2040 and overall neutrality by 2050. Additionally, ongoing research efforts focus on recovering vehicle components and recycling batteries at end-of-life stages.
The Circular Economy Hub also reinforces Seat’s industrial ties with Barcelona following a 2024 agreement to boost innovation and circular economy projects in the city. This aligns with Spain’s growing emphasis on sustainable industrial development and circular economy practices in the automotive sector.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
