Mercedes opens new 96% recycled (and CO2 neutral) battery plant

© Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz has just finalized an investment of several tens of millions of euros in battery recycling and value creation in Germany. The manufacturer has just opened the first battery recycling plant in Europe with an integrated mechanical and hydrometallurgical construction process. This allows the manufacturer to complete the battery recycling chain with its own plant, and create a true circular economy.

Mercedes closes the cycle of its electric batteries

In concrete terms, in contrast to existing processes, the expected recovery rate of the mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling plant is over 96%. Valuable and rare raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt can be recovered in such a way that they can be used in new batteries for future fully electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

For this, Mercedes Benz has teamed up with various partners, namely Primobius, a joint venture between the German plant, the mechanical engineering company SMS group and the Australian process technology developer Neometals. Mercedes says the project addresses the entire recycling process chain, including logistics and reintegration concepts, with an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes.

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© Mercedes

“MMercedes-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 plant marks a milestone in improving the sustainability of raw materials,” explains Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG

The process covers all steps from shredding the battery modules to drying and processing the active battery materials. The mechanical process sorts and separates plastics, copper, aluminium and iron. “In addition, like all Mercedes-Benz production plants, the recycling plant operates carbon-neutral. It is powered by 100% green electricity” indicates the manufacturer. The roof of the factory benefits from a photovoltaic installation with a power of more than 350 kilowatts.

Incidentally, let us recall that the Goldman Sachs bank predicts a 50% drop in the cost of an electric car battery in 2026, compared to 2023. A drop that would be attributed to technological innovation, but also to the continued decline in the prices of raw materials needed to manufacture these same batteries.

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