Mercedes-Benz recently opened Europe's first battery recycling plant using an innovative process that the company says allows for a recycling rate of over 96%, all in-house and ready for use in future Mercedes EVs.
Opened in Kuppenheim, southern Germany, the facility uses an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process that can also process the so-called black mass, which Mercedes says makes it the first car manufacturer to close the loop for regenerating batteries internally. The plant, which has been testing the process for more than a year, receives valuable and rare raw materials, such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, which the company plans to use in future EVs.
The way this concept works is that the plant includes all steps from disassembling battery modules to drying and processing active battery materials, and sorting and separating plastics, copper, aluminum, and steel in a “complex, multi-stage process,” according to the press release. release. The hydrometallurgical process below is dedicated to the black mass, or active materials that make up the electrodes of battery cells. Cobalt, nickel, and lithium are each extracted through a multi-stage chemical process, but at the end of the process it is ready and ready to be used in the production of new battery cells.
Unlike the pyrometallurgy developed in Europe today, Mercedes says its hydrometallurgical process is much less in terms of energy consumption and material waste. Its low temperatures of up to 176 F mean it consumes less energy. In addition, the regeneration plant operates in a net carbon-neutral manner, including a 6,800 square meter roof equipped with a photovoltaic system with a high output of more than 350 kilowatts.
The new Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes. The acquisitions include the production of more than 50,000 battery modules for new Mercedes-Benz electric models. So it's a modest start, but Mercedes plans to increase production rates and increase recycling capacity.
Mercedes-Benz's technology partner for the battery recycling industry is Primobius, a joint venture between German mechanical engineering company SMS and Australian process technology developer Neometals. The company has invested tens of millions of euros in the construction of a new battery recycling facility, and is receiving funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of a scientific research project with three German universities. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was present at the opening ceremony.
Photos: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
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