Northvolt manufactured its first battery cell from 100% recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt. It has shown performance on par with its counterparts made from freshly mined metals.

Northvolt notes that all processing and manufacturing processes were carried out at the same facility at Northvolt Labs in Westeros, Sweden. This development marks a breakthrough for the battery industry and a milestone for Northvolt in its strategy to ensure a sustainable battery supply to support the decarbonization of society.

“The recycling process can recover up to 95% of the metals in a battery to a purity level comparable to fresh virgin material. We now need to increase our recycling capacity in anticipation of future battery volumes requiring recycling, ”said Emma Nehrenheim, director of environmental protection at Northvolt.

Recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt used in battery cells have been recovered from battery waste using a low-energy hydrometallurgical treatment, which involves using an aqueous solution to separate metals and separate them from impurities.

Northvolt is now looking to expand its recycling to industrial scale. To this end, it will build a separate facility for recycling batteries next to the future battery Gigafabrika in Skellefteå, Sweden. The design capacity of the factory is 125,000 tons of batteries per year, its construction will begin in the first quarter of 2022, and operation in 2023.

The recycling plant will receive materials from two sources: used batteries of electric vehicles and scrap from its own production of new batteries. Recycled materials from Revolt Ett will supply the neighboring Northvolt Ett battery plant with enough recycled metals to produce 30 GWh of batteries per year, half of the facility's total annual production.

Northvolt is a European manufacturer of battery cells and power systems. The company was founded in 2016 and has more than $ 27 billion in contracts to date with companies such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar. More than 2,300 people work at Northvolt factories.