Currently reading: New Mercedes plant can recycle 96% of a battery's raw materials

Facility will recover enough raw materials to create 5000 EV batteries a year

Mercedes-Benz has opened a new plant capable of reclaiming 96% of the raw materials used in its electric car batteries.

The new facility in Kuppenheim, southern Germany, will recover materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel from existing electric car batteries so that they can be used in the production of brand-new cells.

Mercedes' process mechanically separates the aluminium, copper, iron and plastics present in each battery, before using an aqueous solution (hydrometallurgy) to recover the rare-earth metals from the remaining 'black mass' of chemicals from the electrodes.

The mass is dissolved into a liquid solution and filtered to separate the graphite, iron and aluminium, before it is neutralised using ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Then it is treated with sulphuric acid, ammonia and an organic solvent.

This yields sulphates of copper, cobalt, manganese, nickel and lithium. The cobalt and nickel are crystallised before being recovered, while the copper, manganese and lithium remain liquid.

When fully operational, the plant will yield 2500 tonnes of recycled material, enough for 50,000 battery modules (or around 5000 EV batteries) annually. 

It also uses less energy than traditional pyrometallurgical processes (such as smelting), helping the Kuppenheim plant to operate on a carbon-neutral basis.

To that end, it will be run using renewable electricity, with the factory’s roof packing a solar panel array that’s capable of supplying up to 350kW.

“We are now sustainably closing the raw materials loop in Kuppenheim,” said Jörg Burzer, Mercedes board member for production, quality and supply chain management. “The innovative technology enables us to recover valuable raw materials from the battery with the highest possible degree of purity. This turns today's batteries into tomorrow's sustainable mine for raw materials.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the plant, German chancellor Olaf Scholz added: "The whole world is talking about de-risking and material security – what better approach than to reuse materials?"

The Kuppenheim plant is backed by battery recycling company Primobius as well as Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

Charlie Martin

Charlie Martin Autocar
Title: Editorial assistant, Autocar

As part of Autocar’s news desk, Charlie plays a key role in the title’s coverage of new car launches and industry events. He’s also a regular contributor to its social media channels, providing videos for Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook and Twitter.

Charlie joined Autocar in July 2022 after a nine-month stint as an apprentice with sister publication What Car?, during which he acquired his gold-standard NCTJ diploma with the Press Association.

Charlie is the proud owner of a Fiat Panda 100HP, which he swears to be the best car in the world. Until it breaks.

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jason_recliner 21 October 2024

Brilliant. Keep up the great work.

Anton motorhead 21 October 2024
Great idea and we may need many more of these recycling plants. I know EV batteries apparently last longer, than we thought, and don't need replacement soon, but still 5000 EV batteries a year does not sound like a lot. Perhaps MB is able to up-scale production when needed? And who knows, one day when the world is saturated with EVs all new EVs will come with recycled batteries unless EVs have been made obsolete by an entirely new technology?
jason_recliner 22 October 2024

The world is transitioning to hydrogen so we'll only need to recycle 30-50years worth of car batteries, primarily, but definitely where we should be heading and can also be applied to other Li batteries such as phones, laptops, etc, etc.