The company has built its first recycling plant in Solothurn. Here, critical materials can also be recovered from used electric car batteries.
The company Librec has developed a complete solution for recycling lithium-ion batteries. Librec’s first recycling plant has been inaugurated in Biberist, Switzerland, in the canton of Solothurn. In this case, the company will initially focus on recycling propulsion batteries from electromobility.
Recycling with green electricity in wooden construction
The innovative site is characterized by a previously unattained recovery rate of more than 97 percent and the exclusive use of renewable energy, according to the company. The recycling factory is located on the site of a former paper mill. Thanks to the use of green energy for recycling and the sustainable use of land through wooden factory construction on an industrial site, the company achieves a footprint of only 25 kilograms of CO₂ equivalents per ton of processed battery material.
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Recovery of critical raw materials
This is also supported by the environmentally friendly processes Librec uses to recycle batteries. In addition, the process developed by Librec enables the material cycle of all materials to be closed. The company is also able to recycle critical raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, copper, and aluminum for the production of new batteries. This also has a very positive impact on the sustainability and carbon footprint of electromobility as a whole.
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Recycling batteries in three-shift operation
In total, the company in Biberist can recycle up to 12,000 tons of batteries per year. Not only used vehicle batteries arrive here, but also waste from domestic and international battery production. The company is currently operating in single shifts with around 15 employees. As the number of used batteries increases in the coming months and years, Librec will gradually ramp up recycling to reach full capacity. Used batteries are recycled here in a three-shift process.
The company, explains :
We are receiving very positive feedback on our core recycling product, the so-called black mass, and we can assume that we are currently producing the best black mass in Europe under the most attractive conditions and with maximum sustainability,
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More locations planned
Foreign partners in the battery industry are also interested in establishing sites in other European countries together with Librec.
Jürg Steiger, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Librec, says :
Next, we want to consolidate our operations in Biberist and maximize our capacity.
“Based on this experience, we will look for attractive partners for cooperation abroad and also for our own projects abroad,”
