China’s CATL in talks to build EV battery recycling sites in Europe

CONTEMPORARY Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker, is in talks with a European partner about setting up multiple recycling sites on the continent.

The company known as CATL is also seeking partners to set up recycling sites in North America, chief manufacturing officer Ni Jun said in a panel at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions on Wednesday (Jun 28). Ni refused to identify the European partner and he didn’t give details on how many sites would be built.

The planned expansion of the service in Europe and North America is a sign that CATL is looking to exert greater dominance throughout the EV battery supply chain, especially in a less-developed segment that’s emerging in importance. Ni said CATL is already the world’s largest electric-vehicle battery recycler, with the capacity to recover more than 99 per cent of a cell’s nickel, cobalt and manganese and more than 90 per cent of its lithium.

“We believe recycling is a must, otherwise when a vehicle retires, what do you do? It’s polluting soil, difficult, dangerous and can be explosive,” Ni said at the event in Tianjin known as the Summer Davos.

China-based CATL has invested in battery manufacturing sites in Germany and Hungary, is working with partners in North America and has plans to invest in Asia, Ni said.

“CATL is aggressively considering the global market and is looking for global partners as well,” he said. BLOOMBERG