EMR, Northvolt establish EV battery recycling facility in Germany

Sweden-based electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Northvolt and U.K.-based metal recycler EMR have built and commenced operations at a battery recycling facility in Hamburg, Germany. The companies say the new site will recycle end-of-life EV batteries in the coming years and provide “much-needed” capacity to support the recycling of batteries in Europe.

The new facility will play a crucial role in dismantling these batteries before material is sent on for further processing or reenters the circular supply chain, the companies say.

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The 129,000-square-foot facility has been fitted and is being operated by EMR and features equipment enabling the discharge and dismantling of approximately 10,000 tons of EV battery packs per year. The companies say this will provide crucial recycling capacity as millions of drivers switch to EVs. The layout and process flow of the facility was undertaken by Northvolt, integrating battery discharging and dismantling solutions designed and delivered by the company.

The discharge and dismantling of the battery packs is the first step in the battery recycling process. EMR says it will leverage its more than 70 years of experience in the metal recycling industry to safeguard the high-quality copper and aluminum used to build modern EV battery frames. The process is designed to ensure this material can once again be used to manufacture sustainable technologies such as the next generation of EVs.

Following this step, the remaining battery modules recovered from packs at the plant will be delivered to Northvolt’s facilities for further recycling. There, the modules will be crushed to enable the recovery of plastics, aluminum and copper. The remaining material, black mass, will be processed at Sweden-based Revolt Ett’s recycling plant using Northvolt’s hydromet technology to recover battery-grade materials including lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt.

These materials will be fed to Northvolt’s adjacent cathode active material production facilities, the partners say, which in turn will support onsite battery manufacturing. When fully built, Northvolt's Revolt Ett facility will enable the processing of 125,000 tons of black mass per year—sufficient to cover approximately half of Northvolt Ett’s raw material needs for cathode production.

Northvolt and EMR say the Hamburg facility receives battery packs and modules from the European EV market, secured by Northvolt. Alongside end-of-life battery packs of varying designs, the facility also is equipped to receive and process battery packs that are recalled from the market. The facility was officially opened by the First Mayor of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschentscher.

“EMR is a world leader in metal recycling and has been an excellent partner in this project,” Northvolt Chief Environmental Officer Emma Nehrenheim says. “The ability to effectively recycle batteries is crucial to making the electric vehicle revolution as sustainable as possible. With this new facility we are ready to receive volumes of European batteries for recycling and further our progress towards establishing a circular battery industry.”

Murat Bayram, Director at EMR, says, “Working with one of Europe’s most innovative battery manufacturers has enabled both our businesses to take significant steps forward in creating a truly circular supply chain for the valuable materials used to manufacture EV batteries. The atmosphere of trust and cooperation we have built together has been essential to the project’s success.  

“EMR’s many decades of success have been achieved by facing every challenge head on–and the climate crisis is no different, he adds. “From our chief executive to our teams on site, sustainability, circularity and protecting the world’s precious resources is at the heart of how EMR does business–as this new site demonstrates.”