The Revolt Ett recycling site will ultimately process 125,000 tonnes of end of life batteries and battery production waste each year. It will service Northvolt’s gigafactory on the same site, which brought one production block online in 2022 and will establish others to reach an annual production capacity of 60 GWh.
ABB will deliver switchgears and variable speed drives to the facility, which will match the speed of the processes taking place in the factory.
Emma Nehrenheim, chief environmental officer at Northvolt, said: “Batteries are a critical technology within the energy transition. But with massive growth in battery demand it is critical that we secure solutions to recycle batteries and ensure reliable, sustainable supply of critical minerals. This new facility Revolt Ett will help us achieve both of these goals as we work towards our mission of building the world’s greenest battery.”
Recycling via Revolt Ett’s battery materials recovery and hydrometallurgical (hydromet) processes is set to supply up to 50 percent of Northvolt Ett’s raw material needs for lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese by 2030. By that point in time, Northvolt aims to have the capacity to manufacture 150 GWh per annum across its operations in Sweden and Germany.
Staffan Södergård, business unit manager, battery manufacturing, process industries at ABB, said: “In conjunction with a trusted partner in Northvolt, this project offers us the opportunity to help our customers avoid carbon emissions, reuse material and protect critical supply chains.”
Since 2017, ABB has delivered key electrification and automation equipment to power Northvolt Ett gigafactory for lithium-ion batteries.