Water recycling at Audi Brussels: - Milestone for sustainable water utilization

• Closed water cycle and utilization of "re-use" water in production with immediate effect
• In cooperation with Hydria, around 100,000 cubic meters of drinking water are saved every year
• Sustainable water use is a central field of action of the Audi environmental program Mission:Zero

Brussels, 11 March 2024 - Re-used water instead of drinking water: Audi Brussels, a leading player in sustainable automotive production, today announces the official launch of its pioneering "re-use" project. This project, implemented in collaboration with Hydria, a company specializing in the collection and treatment of waste water, marks a decisive step towards water savings and environmental sustainability in automotive production.

Audi Brussels is further expanding its sustainability initiatives and has successfully implemented a method for reducing water consumption with the "Re-use" project. Water is used in car production, primarily in the paint shop and for leak testing of the car. The company now recirculates this water as a result of its collaboration with the Belgian company Hydria. This means that the water is purified, but not treated to drinking water quality, but is used as "re-use" water again for the processes in the plant. This means that the water required for production processes is kept in circulation and reused with as little loss as possible.

Audi Brussels is proud that today, in the presence of representatives from Hydria, the first "re-use" water can flow into the processes.

In collaboration with Hydria and the Brussels-South wastewater treatment plant, Audi Brussels uses innovative technologies to create a closed water cycle in its production processes. As part of a public-private partnership with the Brussels-Capital Region, Hydria manages the Brussels South wastewater treatment plant, which is located close to the factory. This enables Audi Brussels to reuse water in its industrial processes. This pioneering measure aims to significantly reduce drinking water consumption and lay the foundations for even more sustainable production.

By implementing this closed cycle, around 100,000 cubic meters of drinking water can be saved each year, which is roughly equivalent to the volume of 40 full Olympic swimming pools.

This makes the plant a pioneer and the first company to sign a contract with Hydria for the intelligent and sustainable reuse of treated waste water.

The CEO of Audi Brussels, Volker Germann, emphasizes the importance of this project: "Clean drinking water is one of the world's most valuable resources and is a basis for all ecosystems. That is why the careful use of our drinking water resources is a central component of our cross-site environmental program Mission:Zero. The integration of "re-use" water into our industrial processes underlines our commitment to sustainable business."

Damien de Keyser, General Director of Hydria, is also proud of this partnership and emphasizes: "After successfully testing the use of our "re-use" water within the wastewater treatment plant (STEP) Brussels - South, we are now pleased to supply our first customer, Audi Brussels, with this quality water and thus contribute to the preservation of a valuable resource: drinking water."

The plant in Brussels has been net C02-neutral since 2018, making it the world's first carbon-neutral large-scale production facility in the premium segment. Fully electric cars have been produced here since 2018 - the Audi Q8 e-tron and Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron models are currently rolling off the production line. As a pioneer of a sustainable production site, Audi Brussels is striving to continuously optimize resource consumption and is relying on efficient technologies in its processes to achieve this.

The initiative therefore fits seamlessly into Audi's Mission:Zero environmental program. One focus of this comprehensive strategy is the efficient use of water: by 2035, the ecologically weighted water consumption per vehicle produced is to be halved from an average of 3.75 cubic meters to around 1.75 cubic meters. In addition to water consumption, Mission:Zero focuses on decarbonization, biodiversity and resource efficiency, thereby underlining Audi's commitment to environmental protection.