Thursday 4 June 2020

Scandinavian companies launch EV battery recycling venture

A Scandinavian coalition plans to build a huge electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling hub in Norway.

The 'Revolt' project developed by Northvolt from Sweden and Hydro from Norway, will enable recycling of battery materials and aluminium from the Norwegian EV market.

The recycling facility, will be crushing and sorting batteries and process more than 8,000 tonnes once operational.

Through the venture, Northvolt seeks to reduce the need for mining raw materials, improve the security of supply and lower the environmental footprint of cells by reducing mining-related emissions.

Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer at Northvolt, said: "Northvolt has set a target for 50% of our raw material in 2030 coming from recycled batteries.

"The partnership with Hydro is an important piece of the puzzle to secure an external feed of material before our batteries begin returning back to us."

Arvid Moss, Executive Vice President for Energy and Corporate Development at Hydro, said: "Hydro Volt can handle aluminium from end-of-life batteries as part of our total metal value chain, contribute to the circular economy and at the same time lessen the climate footprint from the metal we supply.”

The project is expected to start operations in 2021 with a feed of batteries coming from the Norwegian EV market.