Recycling revolution How a Swiss factory is breathing new life into car batteries
A recycling plant for electric car batteries will open in Biberist SO in October. The plant is an important step towards sustainable waste management and resource conservation.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- E-batteries are discharged, dismantled and shredded in Biberist SO. The energy recovered is partly used for the company's own needs.
- Each battery is stored separately to prevent the spread of fires.
- From the end of October, the factory will recycle 12,000 tons of batteries per year.
As reported by "Echo der Zeit ", the number of electric cars is steadily increasing. This growing fleet of electric vehicles raises an urgent question: what to do with the batteries when the cars have had their day?
Instead of disposing of these valuable energy sources in the trash or exporting them abroad, the first large recycling factory for car batteries is opening its doors in Biberist SO this fall.
The new factory stands on historic ground: Paper has been produced on the site of today's recycling factory since 1860. This era ended in 2011 when "Papieri" ceased operations and 550 employees lost their jobs. Large parts of the huge site are still empty today, but new operators have moved in.
"A big step ahead of humanity"
The company Librec, for example, has taken over one of the halls. Librec stands for lithium-ion battery recycling and is managed by Jodok Reinhardt.
As founder and managing director of the company, Reinhardt has a clear vision: "Imagine we can drive completely electrically in the future using electricity from the sun and water. At the same time, we recycle the battery almost 100 percent. If we achieve these two goals, then we will have taken a big step forward as humanity."
Reinhardt sees the new system as an opportunity to reduce the need for oil, reduce the need for oil rigs in the sea and reduceCO2 emissions. A better world to which he wants to contribute with his company.
Recycling from October
From October, his company will be recycling traction batteries from electric cars. "The recycling of lithium-ion traction batteries for electromobility is absolutely solved. We are talking about a recovery rate of 97 percent. We have an industrial plant here in Biberist that solves the problem," explains Reinhardt.
Although the new factory is not yet fully completed, the actual recycling operation is due to start in the fall with 14 employees.
And how exactly does this recycling process work?
Efficient recycling processes
After delivery, the 400 kilogram traction batteries are discharged: "The battery is opened, connected to discharge technology and all remaining energy is sucked out of it," explains Jodok Reinhardt.
The remaining energy is used for the factory's own needs, which Reinhardt hopes will cover a third of its electricity requirements. The batteries are then dismantled, which can vary in complexity depending on the manufacturer.
Librec wants to recycle batteries from all manufacturers, whether Tesla or Renault, Volkswagen or BYD from China. The batteries are shredded and dried, and new batteries can be produced from the resulting powder - the so-called black mass. "This recycling plant is the result of years of research," explains Jodok Reinhardt.
High safety precautions
Given the potential fire hazard of electric car batteries, the factory attaches great importance to fire safety. Each battery is placed in a separate fire compartment to prevent it spreading in the event of a fire. "The warehouse is the safest battery warehouse in the world," says Jodok Reinhardt.
Economic and ecological benefits
The recycling plant can process up to 12,000 tons of car batteries per year. This corresponds to current demand, but with the predicted increase in electric vehicles, expansion could become necessary. At present, the proportion of electric cars is still small compared to petrol and diesel cars.
A battery for an electric car is a complex construction. It consists of a variety of metals. Valuable metals such as aluminum, graphite, nickel, copper, manganese, cobalt and lithium are recovered through recycling.
Critics of electric cars point out that landscapes are destroyed to extract these metals and that precarious working conditions prevail, sometimes even involving child labor. Recycling now requires less raw material extraction, which reduces the associated environmental and social problems.
Competitive technology
New battery recycling plants are currently being planned, built or are already in operation throughout Europe. Both newly established companies and car manufacturers are involved in these recycling projects.
The plant in Biberist stands out due to its high recovery rate of 97%, which also makes it competitive in an international comparison. "This puts us ahead of the international competition," says Jodok Reinhardt.
Factory contributes to environmental protection
There are already smaller recycling plants even in Switzerland, but none match the efficiency and capacity of Librec's new factory.
The opening of the recycling factory marks an important step in dealing with the challenges of electromobility and for the sustainable circular economy in the country.