Europe’s EV battery recycling tech reaches 70% CO2 cut milestone, challenges China
China dominates the battery supply chain, and the environmental impact of mining virgin materials is significant.
The rise of electric vehicles faces a key obstacle: the need for sustainable sourcing and recycling of the materials that make up their batteries.
Two European startups have achieved significant advancements in EV battery recycling with the potential to reshape the industry.
The European Union is implementing regulations that will require EV manufacturers to use a certain percentage of recycled materials in their batteries.
Currently, China dominates the battery supply chain, and the environmental impact of mining virgin materials is significant.
Cathode material recycling
First up, Altilium is a British battery recycling startup. Altilium has successfully created recycled cathode active materials that perform almost similar to those made from newly mined materials.
These cathode materials, crucial components of EV batteries, typically contain valuable elements like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
This is significant because it challenges the reliance on China for these materials, potentially reducing costs and supply chain vulnerabilities.
Altilium’s innovative recycling process offers a double win. Compared to newly mined materials, recycled battery materials reduced CO2 emissions by 70% and costs by 20%.
Christian Marston, Chief Operating Officer of Altilium, told Reuters.
This is a real technical breakthrough that really helps de-risk the use of recycled materials for automakers,
Meanwhile, Munich-based battery recycling company, tozero, is tackling another critical component: graphite. This material makes up a staggering 40% of the carbon footprint of a lithium-ion battery.
The startup uses a hydrometallurgical process in its pilot plant for recycling graphite. This process could achieve “net zero” for emissions when powered by renewable energy.
Tozero is in discussions with major automakers about supplying recycled graphite as they expand their production.
The company’s plans include the construction of a pilot plant within the next two years, to achieve an annual production capacity of approximately 2,000 tons of recycled graphite by 2027. Reportedly, this quantity is estimated to be sufficient for the production of batteries for approximately 50,000 electric vehicles.
Reduce reliance on China
These advancements come at a crucial time. European regulations, starting in 2030, will mandate minimum percentages of recycled lithium, nickel, and cobalt. New EV batteries are required to have at least 6% recycled lithium and nickel, and 16% recycled cobalt.
Altilium and tozero are leading the charge, helping Europe meet these targets.
Moreover, it will reduce reliance on China, and build a more sustainable future for electric mobility.
Altilium is backed by major players like Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), a leading lithium producer, and the Japanese trading giant Marubeni.
As per Reuters, it is also collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, to develop EV battery cells using recycled materials from old Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.
On the other hand, tozero has secured 17 million euros in funding from investors, including the renowned automaker Honda. The company is actively engaged in discussions with various global automakers to supply them with their recycled graphite.
These partnerships and investments highlight the growing interest and support for EV battery recycling technologies. It will lessen the environmental impact of mining and sourcing new resources.
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Europe’s EV battery recycling tech reaches 70% CO2 cut milestone, challenges China, source
