The German car manufacturer Mercedes has started the construction of an electric car battery recycling plant in the city of Kupenheim in the south of the country. This is planned as a pilot project, with the plant able to handle 2,500 tons of old batteries in a year. Mercedes states that the materials obtained in the recycling process will be used to produce more than 50,000 new battery modules per year.
The factory will mostly recycle batteries from test machines and prototypes. The automaker will evaluate how successful the pilot project will be and then decide on the next steps. If Mercedes is satisfied with what they see, it is possible to increase the amount of recycled batteries.
The first works at the new processing plant could start as early as December, but full operation there can be started a few months later, in the first half of next year, unless there are any delays. The construction of the plant is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and is part of a wider research project. Both representatives of Mercedes and the officials of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg expressed their satisfaction with the new building.
