Europe inaugurates the plant that will change the future of battery recycling

Europe faces a major challenge in the coming years: to grow its electric vehicle industry and reduce its dependence on Chinese companies. The latest major meeting between the head of the European Commission and car brands has allowed for a discussion on the way forward.

And it is that Europe has a significant disadvantage compared to Chinese competitors, who have been working for many years on the development of electric cars and batteries. This last aspect is particularly concerning, as companies from the Asian giant dominate the battery and raw material supply chain with an iron fist.

Our region not only needs to catch up in the development of this type of vehicle, but also in the local production of batteries. And beyond that, it must try to become as independent as possible from raw material dependence. In this sense, battery recycling is vital.

The European benchmark factory for recycling

It has been recently inaugurated in Germany, specifically in Meppen, in the north of the country, which is already considered the largest battery recycling factory in all of Europe. It has been opened by Re.Lion.Bat Circular, which already has three large warehouses to receive tons of material daily and recover valuable raw materials from used batteries.

This is not just any factory: it has just started operating and already represents one third of Germany's total capacity in this field, with a full operational processing capacity of 60,000 batteries per year.

After investing 30 million euros in its construction, this factory can recycle four tons of batteries per hour and, when at full capacity, they expect to reach 30,000 tons per year. Thanks to its processing, they can recover up to 96 percent of raw materials, including aluminum, copper, plastics, and even the black mass.

This last one, similar to fine coal dust, is vital for the production of new materials for batteries, as it contains lithium, nickel, and cobalt, essential elements. However, this processing is carried out in Asia or North America, although there are several projects in Europe to carry it out, including in Spain.

Re.Lion.Bat receives lithium-ion batteries, between 4 and 5 trucks daily, and they are unloaded thoroughly at first. After passing through a conveyor belt to the plant, located one meter high, they are crushed, screened, and decomposed into their raw materials through different processes.

They have advanced comprehensive safety systems, designed to prevent stored batteries from ending up in spontaneous combustion. Thermal cameras are responsible for monitoring them from the moment they arrive in trucks until they pass through the warehouses and storage areas.

The measurement devices also monitor the nitrogen content in the facilities and, if necessary, special extinguishing agent sprinkler systems are prepared.

The difficulties of the situation in Europe

As we mentioned earlier, the challenges in this field are greater. There are many projects underway to build new recycling factories across the European continent. However, the volume of end-of-life batteries has not yet grown sufficiently for all these projects to move forward.

The necessary technological investment, the relevant authorizations, pressure from China... are preventing the sector from growing as it should. The goal is to establish a European circular economy to conserve the raw materials found in Europe," says Christoph Spandau, the general director of the German company.

The milestone is, as of today, significant, with a processing capacity of 30,000 tons per year at its start that can be doubled in the future. But to give you an idea, CATL in China is working on an industrial park capable of processing about 500,000 tons annually; that is, about 8-16 times more than what Re.Lion.Bat plans.

* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.

Fuente: ndr.de