Unlike RoHS, WEEE and REACH, the ELV directive is specific to automotive engineering. However, with ASIC and VLSI designs being integral to modern automotive engineering, it has an impact on many electronic and component engineering firms, both in the EU and globally. Like the directive, ELV compliance has been adopted across the world, with most countries on the global manufacturing platform having their own versions in place.

The GADSL (Global Automotive Declarable Substance List) is intrinsically linked to both the ELV directive and the IMDS (International Material Data System), which was established in response to the directives being put in place. The was established by OEMs in order to establish a global tracking and logging system for materials being used in automotive parts and accessories. It requires that all parts and components used in automotive assemblies and sub-assemblies list the chemicals used in their manufacture. The lynchpin of this is the GADSL, which is a list of all prohibited and declarable substances used in automotive applications, together with threshold limits.

If you engineer mechanical or electronic components for the automotive industry, these rules affect you. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer environmental compliance solutions for all engineering sectors, with particular expertise in the area of GADSL and ELV compliance.

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Like the schemes, ELV restricts the use of four toxic metals – lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium. However, the EU now realizes there are certain applications where use of these substances cannot be avoided, and have relaxed the rules accordingly.

ELV includes mechanical design (Unlike the WEEE/ROHS directives, which focus on electronic and electrical equipment). For example, ELV covers the use of lead in galvanized steel; not just sheet metal, but that used for machining purposes and hot dip galvanized steel components. These have been subcategorized and clarified.

Other exemptions cover the use of lead in vibration dampers, and lead in glass and ceramics. The latter category covers VHDL design and even FPGA design, as it describes lead used in dielectric ceramic materials of capacitors, both in integrated circuits and as discrete semiconductors. Interestingly, a new exemption has been added for lead-containing thermoelectric materials used in automotive system designs which reduce CO2 emissions. New changes regarding the use of hexavalent chromium in absorption refrigerators (used in motor caravans) and mercury in lamps were also described.

In many cases, existing exemption dates have simply been shifted, or wording changed. In others, the changes are more significant. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a wide range of services to the auto industry, including data cleansing solutions to aid ELV compliance management.

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The ELV directive was introduced to address the impact that dismantled end of life vehicles have on the environment, with regard to toxic waste reaching landfill sites. It was issued in line with the WEEE/RoHS directives, and among other things placed strict limits on the levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium to be used in the design and manufacture of motor vehicles and their components.

This made things extremely difficult for many automotive design engineers, who found the new rules unfeasible for certain system designs and engineering applications. Evidently, the message reached the right people, because on March 30, 2011, Annex II of the ELV directive was unveiled. This is a list of ELV exemptions, which acknowledges the fact that the use of the four heavy metals mentioned above is technically unavoidable for certain components and materials.

The new exemptions make regular data cleaning an essential part of your environmental strategy, as the exemptions are periodically reviewed to see if they are still warranted, in a process known as ATP, or Adaptation to Technical Progress.

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer targeted environmental compliance solutions for the automotive engineering industry, ensuring you are always up-to-date with the latest WEEE, and ELV compliance changes.

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ATF plants have to dispose of all hazardous materials, and recycle at least 85% of the rest. The first thing to be removed is the battery, then the fluids; engine oil, fuel, hydraulic fluids, anti-freeze, and even the windscreen wash. Holes are drilled to facilitate this, with oils and fluids suctioned or drained into special containers. Recyclable components such as tyres are also removed.

This all sounds familiar, but ELV, GADSL and mean extra care with hazardous components. Lead balancing weights, mercury-rich internal switches and trims containing hexavalent chromium must all be removed and disposed of in an environmentally compliant manner, such that they do not re-enter the supply chain as recycled goods. Other physically hazardous components, such as air bags and seat-belt pretension mechanisms, must be removed or made inactive. The car must be totally safe before being sent for further recycling. There, things become more complex, with a drive to recycle everything, from plastic fascias to fabric upholstery.

ATFs invest large sums of money to reach ELV compliance. Mechanical engineers, FPGA design consultants and system development teams are working overtime to get novel recycling patents off the ground. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies can help, offering manufacturing support at every level.

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Automotive plastic recycling is still in its infancy and, currently, there is no proven technology in common use. However, several in the EU have come up with their own solutions, which they have sold on, so there is a profit there somewhere. In the Netherlands, the 85% minimum target has been met courtesy of impressive government subsidies. In countries where such funding is not forthcoming, such as the UK, firmware development and mechanical engineering companies are working to create affordable, compliant recycling solutions.

ELV compliance is one of three EU rulings specific to the automotive industry. However, the ELV directive is the most expensive to implement. The days of the local scrap dealer making a sideline in second-hand auto parts is spent. Any company handling end-of-life vehicles today must be an Authorized Treatment Facility (ATF), investing in specialised plant machinery and with facilities for removing hazardous residues as per . The site must have a complex infrastructure to ensure it achieves the standards required for ATF licensing.

If you are finding ELV compliance a problem, we at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies have master data management and cost reduction consultants to help you.

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The ELV directive was imposed by the EU to ensure a minimum level on vehicle recycling, and in a sustainable fashion. Introduced in 2000, and legally implemented in 2006, the ELV directive states that at least 80% of each ELV vehicle in the EU must be recovered for recycling, with a further 5% retrieved for use in energy-recovery processes. By 2015, these figures will rise to 85% and 10%.

An ambitious plan, fraught with difficulty, the status report for November 2005 stated that although most member states were trying to achieve ELV compliance, the targets were far from being reached. A lot of the problem lay in the plastic component. Metal, fuel, tyres, fluids, batteries etc can all be recycled easily. However, this still left a shortfall of around 5% to meet the EU target. At present, a number of mechanical engineering companies are working on systems to recover automotive plastics.

We at offer a range of , from master data management for recycling plants, to 3d modelling of novel hardware to furnish those plants.

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Today we are looking at the and ELV compliance. These fit roughly into the scope of the RoHS directive and WEEE compliance directives but they cover End-of-Life Vehicles. Basically the wording says that the End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive 2000/53/EC requires that certain automotive products and parts be free (except for possible trace impurities) of mercury, cadmium and lead as of the 1st of July, 2003.

There is an exception in that Lead can still be used as an alloying additive in copper, steel and aluminum and in solders.

The ELV directive also sets recovery targets for the recycling of vehicles and components within the vehicles and strongly encourages designers, mechanical engineers and manufacturers to design their products with the ideas of later reuse or recycling in mind. They also ask that you provide dismantling and treatment instructions to people who may be involved in the dismantling and recycling operations to help them.

If you think that you may be designing or building products that will be covered by the ELV directive then it is vital that you consult an expert on this issue who will be able to advise you about your actual duty of care in testing, and all of the paperwork and documentation that you will require to be properly ELV compliant.

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