Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer Northvolt and Norwegian aluminum producer Hydro have formed a new partnership (JV) to recycle Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries.
It’s all part of a push to make the EU a more circular economy instead of discarding its waste products in landfills and junk yards.
The recaptured aluminum will be processed by Hydro, while the remains of the battery cells themselves — referred to as “black mass” — will be sent to the Northvolt factory in Sweden where the component materials — lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel — will be separated out and used to make new batteries.
Reusing the materials inside existing batteries will reduce the amount of mining needed to manufacture lithium ion batteries and lower the total carbon emissions from battery production.
It will also reduce reliance on suppliers from outside the EU.
Norway is the ideal place for such a recycling project because it is a world leader in the number of electric cars as a percentage of population.
The recycling center will be located in Fredrikstad and is scheduled to begin operations in 2021. The automated facility will be able to process 8,000 tons of batteries per year.
Reference- Clean Technica, Northvolt PR, Hydro Online newsroom, PV-Magazine