Battery Recycling

Battery recycling specialist Redwood Materials has just gained another major automaker as a client, signing a partnership with BMW of North America. Redwood will help recover and recycle end of life lithium-ion cells and their rare materials from BMW Group marques like MINI and Rolls-Royce.

Advanced material extraction technology company International Battery Metals hit a significant milestone today, beginning lithium extraction operations at a new facility in the US. The plant, home to the company’s proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), is the first in North America and will produce the first lithium derived from DLE operations worldwide.

Green Li-ion has launched a commercial-scale plant to process unsorted battery waste, or “black mass,” from used lithium-ion batteries.

MIT spinout and battery maker 24M Technologies today debuted a new direct-material battery recycling process for EV batteries and battery storage.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland are investigating a way to recover the metallic content of EV batteries with bioengineered bacteria. The new method involves processing spent Nissan Leaf batteries into a “leachate” — a liquified battery slurry — and combining that slurry with said microbes.

Stellantis announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with hydrometallurgical metal recovery expert Orano, to establish a joint venture focused on recycling end-of-life EV batteries and production waste materials from its plants around the world.

Less than two years after sharing expansion plans for Europe, US-based battery recycling specialist Redwood Materials is adding Germany to its map of locations. Today, the company announced the acquisition of Redux Recycling GmbH – the leading lithium ion battery recycler in the EU, as it looks to quickly expand its operations overseas.

Volvo Energy and UK battery storage company Connected Energy today announced that they’ve signed a letter of intent to turn used Volvo EV batteries into new battery storage.

Four companies will together produce new lithium-ion EV batteries that contain recycled metals in a US first.

Li-Cycle today launched one of Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling centers, and it can process full EV battery packs.

CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, looks to continue its dominance in its given market by expanding its existing battery recycling program to new continents outside of China. The company is in talks with a specific partner to erect multiple battery recycling facilities across Europe and may soon be doing the same in North America.

Solid-state battery developer Factorial Energy has announced a new partnership with South Korean metal refining company, Young Poong, to research and implement lithium-metal recycling into its production practices. Through the investment, Factorial hopes to reuse excess metal materials to create a more circular economy.

Redwood Materials’ EV battery recycling pilot program has been going on for a year in California, and today the company shared an update on how things are going.

Redwood Materials was founded by JB Straubel, former Tesla CTO and one of Tesla’s five cofounders.

As all-electric racing series Extreme E approaches the start of its third season this month, it has shared that second life battery storage specialist Zenobē is once again onboard as its official energy storage supplier. Onboard since the series’ inaugural season, Zenobē’s “powerskids” give EV batteries a second life by delivering clean power to the teams in remote race locations around the world.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is going to finance a huge recycling hub that will support the battery needs of around 203,000 EVs a year.

Battery recycling giant Ecobat is building its first lithium-ion battery recycling facility in North America – its third li-ion battery recycling facility globally.

Nth Cycle, a Beverly, Massachusetts-based battery recycling tech firm, has been awarded a $2.15 million grant from the US Department of Energy.

Battery recycling specialist Redwood Materials has announced its next expansion in the US, which includes a new battery materials campus in Charleston, South Carolina. As Redwood’s Easternmost facility in the US, it joins the “Battery Belt” corridor growing between Michigan and Georgia.

Lithium-ion battery recycler Redwood Materials and Audi are today launching a program that enables consumers to drop off their old battery-powered devices at local Audi dealerships, and then Redwood will recycle them to build EV batteries.

In order to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) requires a proportion of battery minerals in EVs to be extracted or processed in the US or free-trade partner countries. But a lot of automakers simply aren’t prepared for that requirement.

Electrek spoke with Megan O’Connor, cofounder and CEO of Nth Cycle, a Beverly, Massachusetts-based metals processing tech company, about how her company can help EV manufacturers address this challenge quickly.

As consumer preference continues trending toward electric vehicles, automakers are moving swiftly to lock up critical battery materials. With battery recycling technology advancing, it will help ease the transition, unlocking the true potential of the sustainability behind electric vehicles. A new EV battery recycling plant in Alabama from Li-Cycle can process up to 10,000 tonnes, enough for about 20,000 EVs per year, helping the US venture toward a zero-emission economy.