Mercedes-Benz has announced a ground-breaking battery recycling facility in Kuppenheim, Germany, pioneering a closed-loop circular economy with a remarkable 96% recovery rate, according to the company in a statement released on Monday.
With an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes, the plant will recover materials to produce over 50,000 battery modules, significantly reducing waste and promoting sustainable battery production.
The facility boasts an innovative integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process, enabling comprehensive recycling and extraction of valuable materials. This includes the mechanical sorting and separation of plastics, copper, aluminum, and iron, as well as hydrometallurgical processing of the “black mass” for electrode material recovery.
Through a multi-stage mechanical process, the plant extracts cobalt, nickel, and lithium individually, ensuring these critical battery metals remain of battery quality for reuse in new battery cells. This closed-loop system minimizes the need for primary materials, reducing the environmental impact of battery production.
As part of their Ambition 2039 Strategy, Mercedes-Benz aims to make its fleet of new passenger cars net carbon neutral over the entire vehicle lifecycle by 2039. As part of this initiative, the company has set a target to increase the proportion of recycled materials in its new vehicle lineup to an average of 40%.
ESG Frontiers Editorial.
