New Panes from Recycled Car Windows for the Audi Q4 e-tron

Audi is using recycled automotive glass to make new windows for its Q4 e-tron EV.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

November 15, 2023

Following a 1-year pilot project, Audi is using glass that comes from customers’ car windows for the series production of new vehicles.

Watch the video to see exactly how the process is done. Audi turns broken glass into new windowpanes. But how exactly does it work? The project uses an innovative recycling process in which older car windows are broken into small pieces and then – freed from non-glass impurities such as adhesive residues – are melted down to make new glass sheets which then will be used for new car windows. For this recycling project, Audi partnered with Reiling Glas Recycling, Saint-Gobain Glass, and Saint-Gobain Sekurit.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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