CARS CARS MERCEDES OPENED FIRST FACILITY FOR RECYCLING BATTERIES

A true circular economy is produced by the recycling facility at Kuppenheim, southern Germany. This supports Mercedes-Benz’s inventive strength and pioneering attitude as it works to drastically cut back on the use of priceless primary resources. The mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling facility is predicted to have a recovery rate of about 96%, which is higher than current recognized technologies. It is possible to recover valuable and rare raw elements like lithium, nickel, and cobalt in a way that will allow them to be used in new batteries for Mercedes-Benz cars that will run entirely on electricity in the future. In order to create value in Germany, the firm has spent tens of millions of dollars building the new battery recycling facility.

“Mercedes-Benz has set itself the goal of building the most desirable cars in a sustainable way. As a pioneer in automotive engineering, Europe’s first integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical battery recycling factory marks a key milestone towards enhancing raw-materials sustainability. Together with our partners from industry and science, we are sending a strong signal of innovative strength for sustainable electric mobility and value creation in Germany and Europe.Ola Källenius” said Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

T”he future of the automobile is electric, and batteries are an essential component of this. To produce batteries in a resource-conserving and sustainable way, recycling is also key. The circular economy is a growth engine and, at the same time, an essential building block for achieving our climate targets! I congratulate Mercedes-Benz for its courage and foresight shown by this investment in Kuppenheim. Germany remains a cutting-edge market for new and innovative technologies.” said Olaf Scholz
Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

Mercedes-Benz’s technology partner for the battery recycling factory is Primobius, a joint venture between German plant and mechanical engineering company SMS group and Australian process technology developer Neometals. The plant is receiving funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of a scientific research project with three German universities. The project looks at the entire process chain for recycling, including logistics and reintegration concepts. The partners are thus making an important contribution to future scaling of the battery recycling industry in Germany.

For the first time in Europe, the Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant covers all steps from shredding battery modules to drying and processing active battery materials. The mechanical process sorts and separates plastics, copper, aluminium and iron in a complex, multi-stage process. The downstream hydrometallurgical process is dedicated to the so-called black mass. These are the active materials that make up the electrodes of the battery cells. The valuable metals cobalt, nickel and lithium are extracted individually in a multi-stage chemical process. These recyclates are of battery quality and therefore suitable for use in the production of new battery cells.

Unlike the pyrometallurgy established in Europe today, the hydrometallurgical process is less-intensive in terms of energy consumption and material waste. Its low process temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius mean it consumes less energy. In addition, like all Mercedes-Benz production plants, the recycling plant operates in a net carbon-neutral^[1]Net carbon-neutral means that carbon emissions that are not avoided or reduced at Mercedes-Benz are compensated for by certified offsetting projects.
manner. It is supplied with 100 percent green electricity. The roof area of the 6800 square-metre building is equipped with a photovoltaic system with a peak output of more than 350 kilowatts.

The Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes. The recovered materials feed into the production of more than 50,000 battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models. The knowledge gained could help scale up production volumes in the medium to long term.

The 2,500-ton-per-year Mercedes-Benz battery recycling facility is located near Kuppenheim. More than 50,000 battery modules for the next all-electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles are made using the recovered materials. In the medium to long term, the acquired expertise could aid in increasing manufacturing quantities.

The circularity of battery systems is approached holistically by Mercedes-Benz, which takes into account three main issues: closing the material loop, value retention, and circular design. The company’s Design for Circularity strategy considers the whole battery technology value chain from the beginning. New battery cells are developed using circular thinking at the Mercedes-Benz eCampus in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, which opens in 2024. Battery facilities across three continents produce batteries for electric Mercedes-Benz cars in a net carbon-neutral3 manner. For Mercedes-Benz’s sustainable business plan to be successful, local battery manufacturing is essential.

The firm provides refurbished batteries as replacement components for all of its electric cars in an effort to save resources and adhere to circular thinking. Additionally, with extensive stationary storage applications, its Mercedes-Benz Energy division has developed a profitable business model. An energy storage device can provide batteries that are no longer fit for use in cars a second chance at life.

Mercedes-Benz adopts a sustainable business strategy because it believes that sustainability entails generating long-term benefit for as many people as possible. Accordingly, a comprehensive corporate attitude that takes into account broader ecological, social, and economic factors must include sustainability as a core element.

“We are systematically deepening our expertise in the battery value chain. Following the opening of the Mercedes-Benz eCampus for development of new battery cell chemistries in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, we are now sustainably closing the raw materials loop in Kuppenheim. 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. The new battery recycling plant strengthens the role of the Mercedes-Benz production network with vehicle and drivetrain plants in Europe.” said Jörg Burzer Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, responsible for Production, Quality & Supply Chain Management

“Battery recycling is of great importance to Baden-Württemberg as a state with such a strong automotive sector. Closing the loop on the value chain reduces dependencies, increases resilience in times of crisis and can smooth peaks and troughs in the availability of raw materials. Mercedes-Benz is a pioneer in this respect: With the integrated battery recycling plant, Mercedes-Benz has developed a sustainable approach for dealing with limited resources and is therefore making a valuable contribution to a truly circular economy. We are proud that in this federal state of innovators, we are also at the forefront in this field.” said Thekla Walker MdL, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg