Altilium & Connected Energy announce battery recycling cooperation

UK specialists Altilium and Connected Energy are developing sustainable business models for reusing and recycling electric car batteries. They are also looking to set up protocols that the industry can use as standards.

Altilium has already received its first batch of batteries from Connected Energy, which will be processed at the company’s recycling facilities in Devon. The company says that its ‘EcoCathode’ recycling process can recover more than 95% of the battery metals and that “the process also results in a 60% reduction in carbon emissions and 20% lower costs compared to virgin materials.”

According to the companies, they want to take their collaboration even further and pave the way for others. The stated goal is “to establish responsible repurposing and recycling protocols, to be adopted as industry-wide standards, following the waste hierarchy principles of re-use, re-purpose, and recycle.”

Altilium and Connected Energy state that repurposing EV batteries can extend their service life by up to ten years. Once they reach the end of their second life, they can be recycled, which is why Altilium and Connected Energy want to combine their expertise.

The latter designs and develops energy storage systems using second-life EV batteries. It installed its second-life battery energy storage systems at two Volvo Truck & Bus dealer sites in the UK in March. Altilium, on the other hand, focuses on battery recycling and the production of cathode active materials (CAM).

“Over the next five years, we will see a rapid increase in the availability of used EV batteries,” explains Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy. “As an industry, it is critical that we work together to ensure that we move batteries through the value chain in a way that minimises their environmental impact whilst maximising their financial value. This collaboration is an important step in creating a model for true battery circularity.”

“We’re excited to be working with Connected Energy to advance our shared vision of a circular economy for EV batteries,” says Rod Savage, Program Director, of End-of-Life Batteries at Altilium. “This collaboration is further demonstration of Altilium’s commitment to ensuring the responsible management of end-of-life EV batteries, working with best-in-class partners across the value chain to support the growth of the entire battery eco-system.”

Just recently, Altilium signed a deal with Enva to collect and recycle EV batteries in the UK. These will be recycled at Altilium’s refinery in Teesside, which can process batteries from up to 150,000 per year.

altilium.tech, connected-energy.co.uk