The number of vehicles with electric drives is increasing and with it the amount of used batteries that need to be recycled. Valuable lithium, cobalt, manganese and nickel can be recovered from the battery and reused for the production of new batteries. Automated recycling enables these rare minerals to be reused cleanly and economically. We play a key role in driving forward the development of economic concepts.
Most batteries in electric vehicles are lithium-ion batteries. It is important to dispose of them properly in order to prevent risks to people and the environment. New concepts for recycling and recovering raw materials help the industry achieve this goal. Various combinations of mechanical, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes are used to recycle the battery materials.
In many states and countries, proper disposal has already become mandatory. In Europe, the EU Battery Directive requires manufacturers to recycle or return batteries. Recycling is mandatory in California.
We are working hard to realise and implement innovative automation processes. The hydrometallurgical recycling process, for example, is a chemical precipitation method using acid. Rare minerals are extracted from the black mass as metal salt. These minerals are supplied to battery manufacturers who reuse them for the production of new batteries.