Kia plans to use recycled plastic from a 55-ton haul recently reclaimed from the Pacific Ocean in its new EV models. 

The record-breaking amount of plastic reclaimed by Kia's global partner, The Ocean Cleanup, marks the next phase in a seven-year global partnership agreed in April 2022 as part of Kia’s transformation into a leading sustainable mobility solutions provider.

The Ocean Cleanup, the international non-profit project with the mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, landed its plastic catch at Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada. 

The record catch was removed from the Pacific Ocean using The Ocean Cleanup’s System 002 extraction technology following a lengthy voyage through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). 

The GPGP is the world’s largest accumulation of floating waste and has an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers – equivalent to three times the size of France. 

Recycling of the captured plastic will begin shortly, and Kia will use a proportion of the material in future models. This policy aligns with Kia’s commitment to provide sustainable mobility solutions that have a measurable impact on achieving sustainability at scale.

Already, Kia has successfully implemented more than 30 sustainable solutions in various product areas. In the case of the EV9, the brand’s 7-seat all-electric SUV flagship model, for example, upcycled waste, including fishing nets retrieved from the ocean, is used to create the vehicle's floor carpets. The components used in the construction of the EV9 made from recycled plastic and bio-based, eco-friendly materials weighing approximately 34kg.

Charles Ryu, Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Brand & CX Division at Kia Corp., commented: “The record catch of plastics brought to shore by The Ocean Cleanup for recycling is tangible proof of how technology can deliver sustainable solutions at scale. Kia’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup demonstrates the brand’s commitment to having a positive impact. Initiatives such as this one perfectly align with Kia’s transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider and our Plan S strategy, through which we embrace the needs of our customers and the protection of our environment by acting as a responsible corporate citizen.” 

The Ocean Cleanup announced the introduction of its new System 03 technology. Almost three times larger than System 002, System 03 can capture much larger quantities of plastic at a lower cost per kilogram removed on a continuous year-round basis.