As the auto industry slowly becomes more eco-friendly, one new development auto-recyclers have had to prepare for is recycling EV batteries.
While many have struggled with dealing with the powerful lithium-ion battery, Volkswagen has a plan.
According to Volkswagen Group, they have announced plans for a new recycling plant, 30 miles from their headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Volkswagen has promised that the plant – which has had ten years worth of research behind – will be able to accept more than 1,200 tons of lithium ion battery packs per year.
“We already have sustainable battery expertise in the Group and are developing this further,” stated Volkwagen’s head of technical planning, Thomas Tiejede.
Volkwagen plans to grind down the batteries and extract materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Any batteries with “some life left”, will be recycled into cell phone charging power packs.
While there hasn’t been specific set plans about having a recycling plant in North America, there have been talks about what can be done.
For more information on recycling EV batteries, visit vw.ca
