The Volvo Car Group looks to recycle old electric vehicle batteries by joining forces with the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).
A new deal will reportedly see Volvo recycling key battery materials while having COTL produce new batteries from such extracted components.
The partnership reportedly aims to push Volvo's mission of reducing electric vehicles' carbon footprint. Volvo suppliers will disassemble the batteries to recover more than 90% of the critical elements, such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, etc.
(Photo: by Scott Olson/Getty Images) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—OCTOBER 04: A Volvo sign is displayed at a dealership in Chicago, Illinois, on October 04, 2021. The Swedish car maker, which China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group owns, announced plans today to take the company public.
According to Volvo, CATL will then utilize the components to create new EV batteries to power its upcoming electric vehicles. Volvo and CATL inked a long-term deal in 2019 to provide batteries for electric Volvo and Polestar vehicles.
Volvo intends to cut CO2 emissions per typical car by 75% by 2030. In its 2023 annual report, the corporation stated that it had decreased average CO2 emissions per car by 20% from the 2018 baseline.
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Manufacturers and EV Recycling
This new EV battery partnership is only one of the many agreements that look to recycle old EV batteries. Just this March, Renault, the famed French manufacturer, revealed plans to recover important metals such as lithium, taking a huge step toward creating a sustainable recycling environment in Europe.
This effort, led by Jean-Philippe Bahuaud of Renault's sustainability division, "The Future Is Neutral," tackles the critical need for European recycling facilities capable of recovering nickel, cobalt, and lithium from EV batteries for fresh battery manufacture.
As Renault prepares for the ChangeNOW conference in Paris, the firm looks to welcome the new initiative that aligns with its environmental innovation.
State Efforts on EV Battery Recycling
As previously revealed, statewide initiatives to recycle EV batteries are also proceeding. According to reports, a new recycling plant specialized in shredding electric vehicle (EV) batteries will open in Kentucky as part of a collaboration between American and South Korean enterprises.
The $65 million project, a collaboration between US-based Ascend Elements, SK eco plant, and TES, an electronic waste recycling company, intends to strengthen the supply chain for battery-related manufacturing in the region.
The 100,000-square-foot EV battery recycling plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was scheduled to begin construction in November and be completed by January 2025, creating around 60 jobs.
According to Mike O'Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements, this venture is the start of a blossoming business in the United States. He underlined the importance of developing battery recycling facilities in addition to building new EV battery gigafactories.
Each year, the plant will disassemble and shred around 24,000 metric tons of obsolete EV batteries and gigafactory trash. In context, this translates to handling around 56,000 EV batteries every year.
Furthermore, the plant will create around 12,000 metric tons of black material yearly. The black mass is a finely powdered substance containing essential cathode and anode components in an EV battery.
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