150 tonnes of batteries from old electric vehicles collected in Belgium last year
Febelauto, the management body for end-of-life vehicles and batteries from hybrid and electric vehicles, collected nearly 150 tonnes of high-voltage electric vehicle (HEV) batteries last year. This is 10 per cent more than in 2022, it announced on Thursday.
A new European regulation, which came into force in February this year, requires battery manufacturers to develop batteries containing 16 per cent recycled cobalt and 6 per cent recycled lithium and nickel by 2031. By 2036, the rules will be even stricter.
Febelauto partner RecuPbat collects batteries at its site in the port of Antwerp. There, batteries are, tested, discharged and dismantled for recycling. Discarded HEV batteries contain much sought-after raw materials such as cobalt, nickel and lithium. A lithium-ion vault has also been built.
Exponential growth
Batteries arriving at RecuPbat are first quarantined for 72 hours in special containers equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system. After the quarantine period, the HEV batteries are disassembled and tested.
After testing, the battery modules are fully discharged so that they can be safely transported and processed. HEV batteries marked for recycling are sent to Febelauto's partners, such as Umicore in Belgium and companies in France and Finland.
The number of HEV batteries currently arriving at these specialised centres is small. But this will soon change, according to Catherine Lenaerts, CEO of Febelauto. "With the growing number of electrified vehicles coming onto the market, this number will increase exponentially."
PHOTO © JENS SCHLUETER / AFP
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