What’s Happening: Mercedes-Benz has celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for a new battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany. The plant aims to establish closed-loop recycling of battery raw materials and reduce resource consumption. The first stage of the plant will be the mechanical dismantling of electric vehicle batteries, which will start ramping up at the end of this year. Mercedes-Benz is investing a double-digit million Euro amount in the construction of the balance sheet CO2-neutral plant.
Why It Matters: Mercedes-Benz’s investment in a battery recycling factory strengthens its role in the global production network and marks a decisive step towards its sustainable business strategy as it moves towards going “Electric Only“. This innovative approach for an integrated recycling concept within a single factory is currently unique in Europe. The investment also contributes to the future scaling of the battery recycling industry in Germany.
Key Points:
- The battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim will cover every step of the process, from dismantling at the module level to shredding and drying and processing of battery-grade materials.
- The hydrometallurgy process with a recovery rate of more than 96 percent, enables a true circular economy of battery materials.
- Mercedes-Benz is cooperating with technology partner Primobius and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection as part of a scientific research project.
- The pilot plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes, and the recovered materials will be fed back into the recycling loop to produce more than 50,000 battery modules for new Mercedes-Benz models.
Bottom Line: Mercedes-Benz has broken ground on a battery recycling factory in Germany that aims to establish closed-loop recycling of battery raw materials and reduce resource consumption. The investment marks a decisive step towards its sustainable business strategy as it moves towards going “Electric Only”. The factory, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection as part of a scientific research project, is unique in Europe and contributes to the future scaling of the German battery recycling industry in Germany.
