Stena Recycling to open battery value chain hub in Norway
When Stena’s new battery reuse and recycling facility in Norway becomes fully operational, it will be able to process up to 3,000 tons of high-voltage batteries per year. This corresponds to 6,000 to 8,000 electric car batteries.
Stena Recycling already runs a recycling facility in Halmstad, Sweden, for all kinds of materials. An electric car battery recycling facility was inaugurated in this plant located between Gothenburg and Malmö just over a year ago. Here, Stena Recycling will soon start receiving and processing scrap from the production process at Morrow’s battery factory in Arendal, Norway. In February this year, Stena also announced an agreement with the Norwegian company Freyr Battery for the recycling of used batteries from its customer qualification plant – with the option to include Freyr’s large “Giga Arctic” plant in the future. In January this year, Stena joined forces with BASF.
Ragnhild Borchgrevink, CEO of Stena Recycling AS, highlights the significance of Stena’s new facility with EV Hub in Ausenfjellet, Norway: “This project focuses on both the reuse and recycling of electric car batteries and will help reduce the carbon footprint and promote a circular economy. With Enova’s support, we can develop new technology and establish a value chain that minimizes the environmental impact of electric car batteries,” she explains.
Stena Recycling says its new project facility in Ausenfjellet will include the development of advanced infrastructure to maximise each aspect of battery reuse and recycling. AI algorithms are to assess battery health, innovative disassembly and diagnostic methods will ensure optimal second-life usage and a modular battery storage bank system will be utilised for second-life applications.
Stena says its partner in the endeavour, EV Hub, has developed a unique solution for diagnosing and repairing battery systems. “Our technology provides a detailed overview of the battery’s condition, making it possible to save many electric cars from being scrapped and get them back on the road again,” says Nassir Farooq, CEO of EV Hub AS.
Stena has been actively cultivating all aspects of the circular battery value chain. Batteryloop, a subsidiary of Stena Recycling Batteryloop, has installed an energy storage system at Stena Metall Group’s head office in Gothenburg, Sweden, using batteries from the industrial truck manufacturer Toyota Material Handling in the connected load. Here, used forklift and bus batteries are given a second life in new stationary storage units.
With Norway boasting Europe’s highest uptake of electric cars, as well as actively increasing the uptake of battery electric ferries and boats, the new battery value chain hub has optimal prospects of engagement.
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