Two Walloon firms in Nivelles, Belgium, demonstrated a modified 2007 Polo on Friday that operates
Two Walloon firms in Nivelles, Belgium, demonstrated a modified 2007 Polo on Friday that operates as an electric vehicle and can be piloted remotely. The project, a collaboration between Spin42 and Citronics, utilizes reclaimed components from Nissan and Tesla, along with processors salvaged from discarded smartphones to manage the vehicle’s core computing systems.
Retrofitting Legacy Platforms with Circular Electronics
The vehicle serves as a proof-of-concept for integrating disparate automotive parts into a functional, modern platform. Marc Lainez, co-founder of Spin42, noted that the platform allows parts from different brands to work together. By developing a unified interface, the team successfully replaced the original internal combustion powertrain with a Nissan motor and integrated Tesla braking components. Lainez asked whether anyone had seen such a conversion on a 2007 Polo before, adding, “I don’t think so.” He cautioned that making components work together is not easy because each manufacturer uses its own language, but platforms can now combine them fluidly. He noted that vehicles are becoming smartphones on wheels with no alternative operating system, and that in a parts shortage crisis, such platforms could use components from other brands to keep vehicles running.
Repurposing Smartphone Logic for Industrial Mobility
Citronics, the firm responsible for the vehicle’s connectivity, specializes in harvesting motherboards from end-of-life smartphones. Jean-Brieuc Feron, CEO of Citronics, reported that the company currently recovers approximately 150 motherboards daily at its facility in the Village n°1. Citronics has the capacity to process 3,000 systems per month and aims to multiply that figure by ten in the coming years. These recycled processors provide the necessary computing power to enable remote radio-frequency control and data telemetry, including speed and battery monitoring. Feron explained that the company holds around 10,000 discarded phones, which are disassembled to extract motherboards housing the valuable processors and memories that provide computing capacity. Five people work on disassembly at the Village n°1 premises, where an estimated 200 million smartphones discarded annually across Europe form the raw material base. The boards are tested, reprogrammed and integrated into a “limeboard” microcomputer. Open-source software named OVCS lets the components speak the same language and transmit real-time parameters to a central computer. About ten smartphones are needed for the Polo, and the motherboard also collects braking data.
The economic argument for this circular model centers on supply-chain sovereignty. By utilizing locally available electronic waste, the companies aim to reduce dependence on complex supply chains abroad. Citronics states that using reconditioned smartphone components reduces CO2 emissions associated with production by 50% compared with manufacturing new electronic modules. Feron said a reused chip costs less to integrate than a new component at equivalent performance, and that using European components allows independence from complex supply chains tied to sometimes uncooperative actors. He noted the approach is competitive, cheaper at equivalent performance than new parts, more sustainable because it avoids producing highly polluting electronic components, and sovereign since the smartphones are available locally.
Testing Autonomous Driving on Small-Scale Polo Model
While the current Polo demonstration relies on radio-frequency remote control, the developers intend to transition to full autonomy using 4G and 5G networks. The team is already testing autonomous driving on a small-scale model of the vehicle, with plans to apply this technology to the full-size Polo after necessary mechanical and electrical changes are made. The software architecture, described as open-source, is designed to allow various components to transmit real-time data to a central controller. The next phase will focus on developing an autonomous vehicle that can operate using onboard cameras. The reconditioned car could pick up a passenger, drop them off, and leave without a driver aboard.
The potential applications for this technology extend beyond consumer mobility. The modular systems developed by Spin42 and Citronics could also be installed in a truck, a tank, or other equipment, including for resupply near the front line. Those familiar with driverless vehicles on the Ukrainian front can envision using such reconditioned cars or trucks, remotely controlled, to evacuate wounded or resupply troops in dangerous zones. The open modules and software are also being tested for heat networks and residential self-consumption optimization, supporting the energy transition.
Citronics’ work is based on more than three years of research conducted with UCLouvain. The project highlights a shift toward localized, circular manufacturing in the automotive sector, prioritizing the reuse of existing materials over the production of new, highly polluting electronic components. The developers note that future possibilities are infinite because the raw materials all exist in Europe.