German carmaker Audi has begun working with Belgian materials technology and recycling partner Umicore to investigate the potential for recycling the materials in electric car batteries.
The companies are looking to adopt a closed-loop approach in which valuable elements such as cobalt, nickel and copper from end-of-life batteries are recovered for use in new ones. Initial tests show that more than 95% of some elements can be recovered and reused.
Umicore is carrying out research with the aim of gaining insights into purity of the recovered materials, recycling rates and the economic feasibility of various ideas such as a raw materials bank.