Fraunhofer ISC to perfect battery recycling

In the EU funded project AutoBatRec2020 (Automotive Battery Recycling 2020) research has begun to look into ecologically and economically beneficial methods of battery recycling for electric vehicles.

The project, which is being coordinated by the Fraunhofer ISC, will analyse the entire battery recycling chain, starting from battery collection, to the different methods to separate battery components up until the processing of materials for re-use in new batteries. In a press statement, the organization stated that the goal is to analyse and improve efficiency, economic aspects and sustainability and intelligently combine and develop an “economically interesting value chain” for European industry.

The project aims to recover valuable resources from discarded batteries and maintain as much material value in the recycling cycle as possible, particularly with regard to the expected demand for battery technology in the coming years. A major challenge they expect to encounter will be the global battery system variety. As the information regarding their construction, condition and resource content is often difficult to find or incomplete, the dismantling may entail some risks. Furthermore, the automatization of the recycling process is more difficult as a result of the different standards. The organizers of the project have stayed optimistic regarding the conclusion of the project with a holistic concept in time.

isc.fraunhofer.de (In German)