Renault plans to extract and recycle lithium and other materials from used electric vehicle batteries. If it achieves its aim, it will be the first European manufacturer to recycle batteries on a large scale.
The chief executive of Renault’s environment unit The Future is Neutral (TFIN) Jean-Philippe Bahuaud revealed in an interview in Paris that the carmaker is in “advanced” discussions with specialist companies for battery material recycling.
“In Europe, there is currently… nobody who can claim to recycle used batteries in a closed-loop to reproduce nickel, cobalt and lithium to make new batteries,” Bahuaud told Reuters.
Recycling the materials from used EV batteries doesn’t just benefit the environment. Important metals used in batteries account for up to 70% of a battery’s cost, which in turn can represent up to 40% of an EV’s cost. Recycling these metals and using them for new batteries will help Renault’s bottom line.
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Renault’s TFIN unit has already dipped its toe into the market. Production at the firm’s Flins factory near Paris will end next month and it will transition to producing partially recycled car components and reconditioned vehicles. It will also repair up to 9,000 batteries this year. These batteries and parts are sold at a 30% discount to new parts.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in Renault’s electric world. For two years, Renault had been hoping to spin off its electric vehicle business Ampere. It canceled these plans in January. An IPO was scheduled for the first half of 2024 but Renault decided not to proceed due to “current equity market conditions.” It also said Ampere is performing better than expected and doesn’t need the cash injection as much as it had thought.
