VW enters into battery recycling cooperation for the UK

Volkswagen Group UK has joined forces with Ecobat to recycle batteries from electric cars. VW UK and Ecobat have been working together since 2014 and have now agreed to extend their partnership.

The agreement will see Ecobat collect electric car batteries from VW to recycle lithium-ion battery materials, according to a statement from the car manufacturer. The deal will help VWG UK “close the loop to promote a circular energy economy and ensure the UK’s largest automotive Group is doing all it can to boost sustainability.”

Ecobat already has two recycling plants, one in the UK and one in Germany. A third is under construction in the USA, in the state of Arizona. In 2021, Ecobat acquired Promesa GmbH & Co. KG, an operator for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles based in Hettstedt, Germany, in 2021. Ecobat describes itself as a recycling specialist for batteries of all chemical types, including lead-acid batteries.

The business relationship with VWG UK began with lead-acid batteries in 2014. The contract was extended in 2019 when Ecobat began working with high-voltage batteries, and since the opening of the company’s UK diagnostic and dismantling centre in Darlaston in the West Midlands, many thousands of batteries have been processed and upgraded, according to the press release.

Although Volkswagen itself operates a pilot plant for battery recycling in Salzgitter, the company from Lower Saxony is not yet able to process the material itself on a large scale. In the case of the Group’s British e-cars, this is now to be done in collaboration with Ecobat.

“As we move to decarbonise road transport, the number of electric vehicles in our car parc is rapidly increasing, and we need to ensure sustainability throughout the lifecycle,” says Sylvain Charbonnier, Director of One Aftersales for Volkswagen Group UK. “Working with our trusted partners, we are confident we can reassure our dealers and customers that we are responsibly moving towards our electrification goals.”

Elliott Ethridge, Vice President of Global Sales at Ecobat, added: “We have been recycling lead batteries for VWG UK for a decade, and we are delighted to be able to extend our relationship to recycle EV lithium-ion batteries.”

vwpress.co.uk