Mercedes-Benz said it is the first car manufacturer worldwide to close the battery recycling loop with a new in-house facility.
The car manufacturer’s new recycling plant is the first in Europe with an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process, which Mercedes-Benz said creates a “genuine circular economy”.
Mercedes-Benz said the expected recovery rate of the mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling plant is more than 96%.
The battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes.
The car manufacturer said the recovered materials will be used to produce more than 50,000 battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is funding the plant as part of a scientific research project with three German universities.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Baden-Württemberg’s Environment Minister Thekla Walker visited the plant for the opening ceremony in Kuppenheim, Baden.
The circular economy is a growth engine and, at the same time, an essential building block for achieving our climate targets!
Commenting at the opening, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz said: “The future of the automobile is electric, and batteries are an essential component of this.
“To produce batteries in a resource-conserving and sustainable way, recycling is also key. The circular economy is a growth engine and, at the same time, an essential building block for achieving our climate targets!
“I congratulate Mercedes-Benz for its courage and foresight shown by this investment in Kuppenheim. Germany remains a cutting-edge market for new and innovative technologies.”
Mercedes-Benz said the battery recycling plant covers all steps of the recycling process, including shredding battery modules and drying and processing active battery materials, for the “first time” in Europe.
The mechanical process sorts and separates plastics, copper, aluminium and iron in a complex, multi-stage process.
The downstream hydrometallurgical process is dedicated to “black mass” – active materials that make up the electrodes of the battery cells.
The valuable metals – cobalt, nickel and lithium – are extracted individually in a multi-stage chemical process.
These recyclates are suitable for use in the production of new battery cells, the car manufacturer said.
Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG Ola Källenius commented: “Mercedes-Benz has set itself the goal of building the most desirable cars in a sustainable way.
“As a pioneer in automotive engineering, Europe’s first integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical battery recycling factory marks a key milestone towards enhancing raw-materials sustainability.
“Together with our partners from industry and science, we are sending a strong signal of innovative strength for sustainable electric mobility and value creation in Germany and Europe.”
