Belgian company to recycle electric race car batteries

The all-electric car racing series Formula E is not just attempting to improve the performance of electric cars (EVs) but also to produce cleaner and more efficient EVs.

Formula E races

Wikipedia describes the races: "Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars. The series was conceived in 2011, and the inaugural championship started in Beijing in September 2014. The series is currently in its fifth season. It is sanctioned by the FIA. Alejandro Agag is the founder and current chairman of Formula E Holdings."

Formula E announced last month that it has entered a partnership with the Belgian-based recycling company Umicore. Formula E will collect all its used batteries from its racing teams and send them to Umicore where they will be sorted and dismantled. Umicore will then put them through their proprietary smelting and hydrometallurgical process that will recover all the metals from the batteries.

Organizers of the Series E claim the metals are recyclable again so they can be made into new batteries many times over.

Battery recycling a key issue for EV manufacture

EV batteries are a large part of the materials used in manufacture of EVs. The production of the batteries consumes many scarce resources actually more than gas engine vehicles according to automakers. While driving EVs uses less energy than gas or diesel vehicles, battery recycling will also help them to minimize resource consumption in their manufacture as well.

Up to now EV makers have been searching for ways to reuse EV batteries that no longer function to drive the vehicles. Some are being used for solar storage or in charging stations. As EV's are relatively new on the market there is not a huge supply of used batteries that would make recycling programs profitable.

Umicore is one of just a few recyclers of EV batteries around the world. BMW has also made arrangements to recycle batteries from its i3 EV. Several countries where EVs are already quite prevalent have regulations that make EV automakers responsible for ensuring that their EV are reused or recycled so that they do not become part of the waste stream. If Umicore's recycling program is successful this will make EVs an even more attractive alternative to gas and diesel vehicles.

Umicore

Wikipedia says of Umicore: " Umicore N.V.. formerly Union Minière, is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.Formed in 1989 by the merger of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining and recycling of precious metals and the manufacture of specialised products from precious metals, cobalt, germanium, zinc, and other metals...Battery Recycling is a second business unit, focused on the recycling of spent rechargeable batteries from laptops, mobile phones, and hybrid electric vehicles."

Umicore now generates most of its revenues from clean technologies such as recycling, emission control catalysts, materials for rechargeable batter,s and photovoltaics. Umicore is ranked as one of the Global 100's "Most Sustainable Companies in the World:" In 2013 it was the top-ranked company. The company has won an award for its breakthrough technologies for recycling lithium-ion batteries and other initiatives.