Renault partners up to recycle electric vehicle batteries
Industry experts have predicted that the estimated number of electric vehicles on the road around the world could increase from eight million in 2020 to 116 million by 2030. This means access to the required raw materials will become more challenging which calls for a strategic approach. One important aspect that can help is EV battery recycling and that’s exactly the approach from Groupe Renault.
Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay Group said they were thrilled to have Groupe Renault join the consortium. They see them as a strategic partner in closing the loop of circularity, bringing input material for recycling and re-injecting purified metals into the battery cycle.
She continued by stating: “This project exemplifies how we walk the talk with our Solvay One Planet sustainability roadmap as we aim to more than double revenues generated in a circular economy by 2030.”
A Powerful Partnership In EV Battery Recycling
Renault, who has long been one of the leading figures in technology and sustainability, recently joined forces with Veolia and Solvay to reinforce their commitment to battery recycling. Veolia, a global leader in optimised resource management, has 10 years of experience in lithium-ion EV battery recycling and dismantling through a specialised hydrometallurgical process.
At the same time, Solvay is a leading science-based company with tremendous expertise in the chemical extraction of scarce battery metals. These companies originally formed the consortium in September 2020 with the primary goal to create a circular ecosystem that would optimise the recycling of lithium-ion batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles in Europe.
A particular focus was on improving the management and reusing of critical and rare raw materials. And now, with Groupe Renault getting onboard offering vast amounts of experience in the circular economy, the consortium looks set to benefit from a highly complementary partnership.
What Does The Closed-loop EV Battery Recycling Process Involve?
Groupe Renault has a holistic approach to EV battery life cycles consisting of repairing first-life batteries to extend their automotive lifespan, develop second-life applications for energy storage and setting up a system for collecting and recycling batteries.
Now, the three partners want to establish a secure and sustainable source of supply for strategic battery metals, including cobalt, nickel and lithium. They plan to achieve this goal by leveraging their respective expertise at each step of the value chain.
This involves the collection of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries for dismantling, metal extraction and purification thanks to enhancing the consortium’s existing mechanical and hydrometallurgical battery recycling processes.
Antoine Frérot Chairman and CEO of Veolia described it exceptionally well when he said: “The recycling of electric vehicle batteries and the management of the pollutants they contain are major ecological and industrial challenges. By partnering, Veolia and Solvay help develop the recycling value chain and the production of strategic raw materials for the production of new batteries. If today the essential compounds of batteries are mainly imported, tomorrow they will be regenerated in Europe.”
Final Thoughts
By combining Solvay and Veolia’s innovative technologies and processes, strategic battery metals that were previously recovered in a form only suitable for metallurgical applications will be extracted and purified into high-purity metals. Once completed, it can be reused in new batteries which helps reduce the environmental footprint of future EV batteries as a direct result of this closed loop.
Here’s what Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault had to say: “We are proud to reinforce our commitment to battery recycling by joining forces with Veolia and Solvay. We aim at implementing innovative and low-carbon battery recycling solutions to pave the way to sustainable sourcing for strategic battery materials as electric mobility is growing.”
De Meo continued by stating that “Together, we will leverage our strong presence on the entire EV value chain in Europe to take a competitive position in the battery materials market and generate value beyond our core business.”
Renault, Solvay and Veolia are already busy with an experimental phase where they will set up a pre-industrial demo plant in France capable of extracting and purifying end-of-life EV battery metals. This will help take EV battery recycling to the next level by promoting and actively enabling the circular economy.
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