Automotive OEM Groupe Renault has formed a partnership with resource management firm Veolia and science-based company Solvay to develop a closed-loop recycling system in Europe.
The partners aims to leverage their expertise at each step of the value chain to establish a sustainable European source for battery metals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium.
The existing Veolia and Solvay consortium was created last September.
The partnership will see Renault pool its EV battery life-cycle experience with Solvay’s expertise in the chemical extraction of battery metals, and Veolia’s experience in dismantling and recycling batteries using a hydrometallurgical process.
The three partners are already engaged in an experimental phase, which involves setting up a pre-industrial demo plant in France with the capability to extract and purify end-of-life EV battery metals.
Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay Group, said: “This consortium is a great example of partnership in the value chain that makes circular economy come true for battery metals.
“We are thrilled to have Groupe Renault join the consortium and view them as a strategic partner in closing the loop of circularity, bringing input material for recycling and re-injecting purified metals into the battery cycle.”
