STUTTGART, OCT 22 – The first battery recycling plant in Europe, belonging to the German luxury car maker, Mercedes-Benz, started its operation yesterday in the city of Kuppenheim, southern Germany, reports Xinhua.
With an investment of tens of millions of euros, the plant is able to recover more than 96 percent of used batteries and convert 2,500 tons of recovered material into more than 50,000 battery modules for new models of Mercedes-Benz fully electric vehicles every year, according to a company statement.
Using process mechanical-hydrometallurgical integrated, the plant breaks down, separates, and recovers battery materials for reuse in a carbon-neutral facility. This approach uses less energy due to the low processing temperature and is powered by green electricity generated by a photovoltaic system installed on the plant’s roof.
This plant marks an important milestone towards increasing the sustainability of raw materials, said Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Mercedes-Benz AG Group.
“Together with our partners from industry and science, we are sending a tangible signal of innovative strength for sustainable electric mobility and value creation in Germany and Europe.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Environment Minister of the southwestern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Thekla Walker, also attended the plant’s opening ceremony. – Named
