Recycling batteries, particularly from electric cars, is a vast and delicate subject. If they are technically much more recyclable than what we may hear, theoretical recyclability is nothing if it does not translate into concrete actions.
In China, Volvo Cars and CATL have just announced an agreement between the manufacturer, which is moving towards all-electric, and its battery producer. “Volvo Cars will collect the spent batteries and deliver them to downstream suppliers certified by Volvo Cars for recycling and extraction of metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. CATL will use these recycled materials to produce new batteries to power electric vehicles manufactured by Volvo Cars”explains CATL.
The two partners hope to recycle 90% of these metals. By way of comparison, European regulations impose a minimum recycling rate for batteries at the end of their life of 50% of their total mass. These recycled metals will make it possible to limit the extraction of new raw materials, which are widely criticized for their environmental and sometimes also social impact.
It remains to be seen whether Volvo and CATL will respect their commitment and whether this initiative will not be reduced to recycling the batteries of only some of the electric cars which have reached the end of their life. On this point, the two partners promise to “establish an efficient, collaborative and transparent management mechanism to ensure that the entire recycling and production process meets the quality requirements of both parties and complies with the legal and regulatory requirements of different regions around the world.”