Mercedes-Benz has opened a battery recycling plant capable of recovering almost all raw materials for use in future electric vehicles.

The plant will generate enough recycled materials to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules a year

Opened following a “double-digit million-euro investment”, the site in Kuppenheim, southern Germany covers all steps from shredding battery modules to drying and processing active battery materials using an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling concept.

The mechanical process sorts and separates plastics, copper, aluminium and iron in a complex, multi-stage process. Valuable and scarce raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt can be recovered – in a way which is suitable for use in new batteries for future all-electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

It’s said to be a first for an inhouse facility for a vehicle manufacturer and is a major milestone on the road to enhancing raw materials sustainability thanks to an expected recovery rate of more than 96%.

The plant has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes and the recycled materials could be used to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules per year.

The hydrometallurgical process is also said to be less energy intensive compared to the established pyrometallurgy system in Europe. As with all Mercedes-Benz production sites, the recycling plant operates in a net carbon-neutral manner, aided by 100% green electricity and solar panels on the roof area of the 6,800m2 building.

The new processes have been developed in cooperation with technology partner Primobius and research institutes – and Mercedes said the plant creates a genuine circular economy.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG chairman Ola Källenius said: “As a pioneer in automotive engineering, Europe’s first integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical battery recycling factory marks a key milestone towards enhancing raw materials sustainability. Together with our partners from industry and science, we are sending a strong signal of innovative strength for sustainable electric mobility and value creation in Germany and Europe.”