Fortum, BASF, and Nornickel have signed a letter of intent to plan a Li-ion battery recycling cluster in Harjavalta, Finland, serving the electric vehicle market. This would enable a successful “closed loop” cycle to re-use the critical metals present in used batteries.

In March 2019, Fortum announced that it had boosted the Li-ion battery recycling rate to more than 80%. (Earlier post.)

Using metals from recycled batteries to produce battery materials offers significant CO₂ reduction in the production of electric vehicles. Additional CO₂ reduction can be achieved by using electricity from renewable sources in Finland for the recycling process.

By recycling valuable metals in lithium-ion batteries we reduce the environmental impact of electric car batteries by complementing the supply of cobalt, nickel and other critical metals from primary sources. Through our previous acquisition of a Finnish growth company Crisolteq, an expert in low CO₂ hydrometallurgical processing, we are very proud that Fortum is now able to increase the recovery rate of valuable materials in lithium-ion batteries from 50% to over 80%.

—Tero Holländer, Head of Business Development, Fortum Recycling and Waste

BASF intends to use recycled materials from the processes developed by the companies within this cooperation in its planned battery materials precursor plant in Harjavalta, Finland.

The combination of battery materials production and recycling enables the circular economy by closing the loop. To drive electrification, we are focused on bringing solutions for high energy density cathode active materials and high efficiency lithium extraction for battery recycling.

—Tim Ingle, Vice President, Precious Metals Refining, Chemicals & Battery Recycling, at BASF

The parties aim to foster the production and use of responsibly produced recycled raw materials in the battery market.

A modern recycling unit next to Nornickel Harjavalta would further strengthen its position as one of the most sustainable nickel refineries in the world. This setup is ideal for sustainable processing of two of the main metals used in Li-ion batteries. Development of recycling solutions will not only support Nornickel’s strategy of further lowering its CO₂ footprint and improving sustainability, but it is also essential to enable the industry to meet the growing demand of critical metals in the electric vehicle sector.

—Joni Hautojärvi, Managing Director, Nornickel Harjavalta