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Hydrovolt starts construction on battery recycling plant

Once completed, the plant will have a capacity to process more than 8'000 tonnes of modules from car batteries each year, and also have the possibility to expand on this. Hydro and Northvolt have invested NOK 120 million (EUR 11.5 million) in the plant through the JV Hydrovolt.

Operations at the plant are currently planned to start in late 2021. The Norwegian company Batteriretur, located adjacent to the new plant in Fredrikstad, will supply batteries and operate the plant. “Norway has long been a global leader in electric car adoption. At the start of 2021, we became the first country in the world in which over half of all new cars sold are electric. We should therefore also aim to be world-leading in recycling the used car batteries, when the electric cars reach their end-of-life,” says Hydrovolt CEO Fredrik Andresen, in a press release. As with many of the new Nordic battery oriented ventures, the plant will be powered by 100% renewable energy, extensively automated and designed for crushing and sorting batteries. Through a possible expansion, the plan is to also process other types of batteries than car batteries, including batteries from the marine sector, from all over Europe. Operations at the new plant will be closely integrated with Hydro and Northvolt’s existing businesses. Aluminum from the used batteries will be recycled and reused by Hydro, while the ‘black mass’ containing lithium, manganese, nickel and cobalt will either be reused in Northvolt’s battery production or sold to other parties. “The world needs large-scale production of green batteries produced with a minimal carbon footprint, and this needs to be supported by recycling processes to close the loop and improve the environmental profile of batteries even further. Hydrovolt represents a key milestone on that path,” says Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environmental Officer, Northvolt. The joint venture between Hydro and Northvolt was formed during the summer of 2020. In November 2020, Hydrovolt received NOK 43.5 million (EUR 4.2 million) in support from Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise supporting clean energy and climate efforts.

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April 15 2024 11:45 am V22.4.27-2
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