Robotic EV battery recycling to begin in Germany

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety will finance the DeMoBat dismantling plant built for recycling batteries and motors for EVs, to the tune of 13 million euros.

This funding will be done gradually over a period of 4 years as part of the Baden-Württemberg automotive industry’s strategic dialogue (SDA).


The robot-assisted dismantling of batteries and motors from electric vehicles will make it possible to recover materials such as cobalt, nickel and graphite for reuse. And this, in an automated way, can bring the cost of new batteries down, hence bringing down the prices of EVs, giving a boost to EV adoption.

The processes at work for this must be respectful of the environment. This is both to reduce dependence on imports of raw materials, but also to significantly improve the environmental impact of electric vehicles throughout their life cycle.

Among the 13 university and industrial partners carrying out this project are the Siemens and Mercedes-Benz groups. The consortium is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), through its director, Professor Alexander Sauer.

A center of excellence created specifically will be responsible for supporting the progress of the program on the technological and economic levels.

“It is important for us to verify whether the dismantling plant is economical and also safe for the environment,” said German Minister Franz Untersteller.

Project details can be seen on Karlsruhe Institute of Technology’s website.


Author: Nabeel K
Email: nabeel@wheelsjoint.com



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