Due to the growing demand for electric vehicles, stable access to raw materials is a strategic challenge. The recycling of electric vehicle batteries and the management of the pollutants they contain are major ecological and industrial challenges. Solvay and Veolia partner on a circular economy consortium to offer solutions that promise better resource efficiency for critical metals used in lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Solvay’s role in this consortium is to optimize the extraction and purification of critical metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium and transform them into high-purity raw materials for new batteries, ready for another fresh start. Veolia has already been dismantling batteries for electric vehicles in a recycling plant since 2013. The combination of mechanical and hydrometallurgical processes makes it possible to treat the active cells and extract the active metals.
- Veolia, Aubervilliers, France
- Solvay, Brussels, Belgium
