In the northern Swedish city of Skellefteå, 250 construction workers brave the cold every morning to build what’s expected to be the largest battery-recycling facility in the world.
The site, near the Arctic Circle, belongs to the battery-manufacturing startup Northvolt and sits next door to its well-established gigafactory, where it supplies automotive giants like BMW, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
Other Northvolt news…
1600 jobs slashed as ‘green revolution’ stalls at Northvolt
https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/motoring-news/1600-jobs-slashed-as-green-revolution-stalls-at-northvolt/news-story/5d50ac9d945dcf67ccc7e00bdcf2c056
Back in 2021, the opening of a giga factory in an icy city near the Arctic Circle was hailed…The factory was opened by an exciting and rapidly-expanding business called Northvolt that had a mission to build “the world’s greenest battery” to power electric vehicles…
Last week, the beleaguered electric car battery maker revealed it would cut a quarter of its staff, as it struggles with strained finances and a slowdown in demand…
A major problem for Northvolt is that as demand for EVs has softened, the demand for the cells that power them has followed suit. Even the most well-established battery-makers like South Korea’s SK On and LG Energy Solution have seen profits take a big hit — and the Swedish company has fared even worse. Northvolt lost $1.74 billion last year — that’s four times its loss in 2022…
Although the market is faltering, Northvolt’s biggest issue is self-inflicted according to The Economist. It reported the company had a pot of funding worth $22 billion last year which it spent “far and wide” in projects like developing a sodium-ion cell battery and working on wood-based batteries with a paper company.
DB2
I find the battery recycling part most interesting. At this time most battery recycling probably comes from accidents. Battery life thought to be 8 years or so. In 2027 business is likely to be good.
Coupling recycling with battery manufacture is probably most efficient.
Not necessarily. Batteries come in diverse chemical compositions and a pure recycler can sell to whoever needs the chemicals. Pure recyclers can have the benefit of greater volumes. BTW, EVs are not the sole source of recyclable batteries.
The Captain
I think we are speaking of lithium batteries. Lithium, nickel, cobalt are recoverable and can be reused. Purity required determines how much processing is needed.
Today we also have lithium, iron, phosphate.
No its not about lead acid batteries or sodium batteries.
I’d guess that as long as battery technology is progressing, battery recycling will be mostly a separate endeavor. And recycled batteries will probably be used for “lesser” applications (like fixed energy storage, etc). Vehicle manufacturers will want to use the better (and/or cheaper, etc) technology that is being, or will be, developed.
Musk has already suggested using batteries too weak for EVs for power storage. That extends their useful life and probably their value.
Better formulations may well be developed but most will continue to use the same elements. Some will be easier to recycle and less costly to process.
Lithium batteries have diverse chemistries.
The Captain
Yes, and the main elements used can be recycled when processed to the purity required.
That is probably way too short of a time estimate, on average.
8 years is the typically warranty, but most cars don’t need a new battery at 8 years and a day.
My Tesla is just over 6 years old and has lost about 4% of range so far.
Some good stats in this old article from when the initial Model S reached 10 years
How Is the Battery Degradation of the Tesla Model S After 10 Years on the Roads? - autoevolution
Mike
From last year…
And this week…
One day after the filing on November 21, the firm — viewed as a crucial component of the European Green Deal — saw its CEO Peter Carlsson announce his resignation, claiming it was “a good moment to pass the reins to the next generation of leaders”…
Northvolt also has $5.84 billion (€5.62 billion) of debt. Last year, it made a loss of $1.2 billion (€1.15 billion). That figure makes it one of the most indebted companies to file for bankruptcy in the US in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…
For months, Northvolt had been holding talks with shareholders, customers and creditors over the lack of funds…The company said in the same month [September] it would stop producing cathode materials, which are one of the fundamental components of batteries, at its facility in Skelleftea, Sweden…In a press statement, the company stated that its flagship factory near the Arctic Circle in Sweden would operate as usual during the reorganisation…
Much of the money Northvolt secured in the past came from governments or government-related institutes…Since its inception, Northvolt has not made a profit.
DB2
A couple of weeks ago Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in the US.
Northolt’s US bankruptcy filing threatens 600 million euros in Germany
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/northvolts-us-bankruptcy-filing-threatens-600-million-for-germany/ar-AA1vaiIq?ocid=BingNewsVerp
Swedish battery manufacturer Northolt’s financial troubles could cost the German federal government and the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein dearly, following the company’s bankruptcy filing in the United States.
Northvolt, which is building a battery factory near the German town of Heide, has put millions in loans from Germany’s state-owned KfW development bank at risk. The German government and the state government each guaranteed half of the loan.
DB2
It’s now official.
And for the Canadian connection…
It also has potentially serious implications for Canada. The company was building a giant battery cell factory in the greater Montreal region with financial backing from the Quebec and Canadian governments – a key facility in Premier François Legault’s industrial strategy to make the province a global hub for electric-vehicle battery production and development.
That $7-billion project, billed as the largest private-sector investment in Quebec history when it was announced two years ago, is now in doubt…
Quebec Economy Minister Christine Fréchette said the province would like to see the trustee search for a buyer that would take up Northvolt’s entire North American activities in order to relaunch the project. Construction on the site, located in the towns of Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, is now stopped.
DB2
Call 
Elon 
The Captain 
Berf. I don’t like it when pols make statements like that. The Gov of Michigan, two Govs ago, was hailing the state as a “pharmaceutical research and development hub”, based on research facility expansions by Upjohn in Kalamazoo and Parke Davis in Ann Arbor. Then Pfizer bought both companies and closed both Michigan research facilities down…oops. The Kalamazoo facility, built in the 90s, became Whatsa Matta U’s med school. The Ann Arbor campus was bought buy U of M, and is now their “North Campus Research Complex”, for medical research and med school facilities.
Wonder what is going on with Ford’s battery plant near Marshall? Pols were loving that one too, except for the ones flaming Ford for hooking up with CATL.
Steve