EMR opens new battery recycling plant in UK

Opening ceremony for the new battery recycling centre (Photo: EMR)

Recycling specialist EMR, which has operations in the UK, USA, Germany and the Netherlands, has opened a new EV battery recycling centre in Birmingham, UK.

This is the first centre of its type in the UK; EMR has one other recycling site in Hamburg, Germany. The plant can process in excess of 2000 tonnes of battery packs per year.

In addition to recycling, the centre will have the capability to test packs to check for possible repair or reuse. Packs fit for reuse could be directed to the energy storage market.

Development of the new recycling site involved the RECOVAS consortium, a collaborative R&D project launched in 2020. The aim of the project is to develop commercial-scale battery pack recycling facilities in the UK.

The recycling plant can accept batteries from almost any electrified product, ranging from scooters to cars, through to forklifts.

The new recycling site will help to drive increased sustainability across the electrified vehicle market, returning such materials as cobalt, lithium and nickel to the new battery production market.

Chris Sheppard, chief executive of EMR, said: “This is an exciting new chapter in EMR’s history, and I’m proud of our team’s hard work in making this possible.

“The Birmingham facility is the latest in our efforts to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve in sustainability, innovation, and technology. By creating a circular supply chain for EV batteries, we are not only supporting the UK’s transition to net zero, but we are also setting a benchmark for others to follow in this rapidly evolving industry.”

Helen Waters, head of Electric Battery Recycling at EMR, added: “As always with EMR, safety and environmental protection are at the heart of our approach to EV battery recycling. We use market-leading systems and software to de-risk the process of discharging the cells prior to recycling, and our high-voltage testing team is led by former Jaguar Land Rover EV battery technician, Sanjay Kundu.”