Liberec to build largest-yet EV battery recycling factory in Switzerland
As the number of electric cars increases, so does the need to recycle electric car batteries, especially as the working conditions for mining the metals required for batteries are often unfavourable. Battery recycling therefore offers the opportunity to produce at least some new electric car batteries from reused materials and thus alleviate the problem somewhat.
In Switzerland, the company Librec is about to open the country’s largest recycling plant for electric car batteries. The company has built a new recycling hall on the site of a former paper factory in Biberist. The plant is due to go into operation at the end of October.
After delivery, the batteries are first completely discharged. ‘The battery is opened, connected to discharge technology and all remaining energy is sucked out of it,’ explains Jodok Reinhardt, founder and Managing Director of Librec, to SRF. The energy obtained in this way is to be used for the recycling plant and thus covers a third of the energy requirement.
Librec wants to recycle batteries from all manufacturers. Once their energy has been discharged, the batteries will be dismantled. Depending on the manufacturer, up to 70 screws have to be loosened. The battery is then shredded and dried. The resulting powder, known as black mass, can be used to produce new batteries. “This recycling plant is the result of years of research,” says Librec founder Jodok Reinhardt.
Special attention is paid to fire safety in the factory – in case one of the batteries catches fire. “Each battery is placed in a separate fire compartment. If a battery catches fire, the fire cannot spread,” explains Jodok Reinhardt.
Recycling is due to start at the end of October. The maximum capacity per year is 12,000 tonnes of electric car batteries. This is currently enough to serve the market, Librec founder Reinhardt told SRF. The recovery rate is said to be 97 per cent, which according to Reinhardt is even higher than that of competitors. If the proportion of electric cars continues to increase, expansion could be possible at a later date.
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