Fortum, a leading European energy company, has developed a new and efficient way to recycle lithium from rechargeable batteries, which could help meet the upcoming surge in demand for electric cars and battery materials, as it was informed in the press release
Finnish-based Fortum has now patented a breakthrough technology for a new recovery method to reduce the environmental impact of recycling lithium and make it possible for EV car producers and battery manufacturers to make a smoother and more sustainable transition to electrically powered vehicles.
The global lithium-ion battery recycling market was worth about EUR 1.3 billion in 2019, but it is expected to boom in the coming years to more than EUR 20 billion. According to a forecast by the International Energy Agency, the number of electric vehicles on the world’s roads will increase from three million to 125 million by 2030.
In 2019, Fortum announced it had achieved a recycling rate of over 80% for lithium-Ion battery materials with a low-CO2 hydrometallurgical recycling process to recover cobalt, nickel and manganese. Fortum operates a hydrometallurgical recycling facility in Harjavalta, Finland, which is already able to operate on an industrial scale.
Fortum is a leader in the sphere of generation of ecological energy provided to the consumers. Besides, the Company offer intellectual decisions for the effective usage of resources. It is keeping 8 000 professional specialists in North Europe, Baltic states, Russia, Poland and India. In 2019 the revenues from sales reached 5,4bn euro. The stocks of the Company are traded on Nasdaq Helsinki. The headquarters are located in Espoo, Finland.