Hydrovolt, the joint venture between Swedish battery maker Northvolt and Norwegian aluminium firm Hydro, has started construction of its lithium-ion recycling plant in Norway.
The plant, in the city of Fredrikstad, will have the capacity to process more than 8,000 tonnes of modules from car batteries each year, with the possibility to expand.
The ‘black mass’, containing lithium, manganese, nickel and cobalt, will either be reused in Northvolt’s battery production or sold to other parties. Aluminium from the used batteries will be recycled and reused by Hydro.
The Norwegian battery recycler Batteriretur, located adjacent to the new Hydrovolt plant, will supply batteries and operate the plant when it’s completed in late 2021.
Hydro and Northvolt have invested NOK 120 million ($14 million) in the plant through the joint venture.
The plant will be powered by 100% renewable energy, extensively automated and designed for crushing and sorting batteries.
A possible expansion plan is to also process other types of batteries from all over Europe, including batteries from the marine sector.
Hydro and Northvolt formed Hydrovolt last year, and, in November, received NOK 43.5 million ($5 million) in support from Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise supporting clean energy and climate efforts.