Mercedes-Benz has joined the drive into electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling in China, teaming up with the nation’s top battery-maker and a recycling specialist as the world’s largest EV market faces the prospect of millions of batteries that will be discarded in the years ahead.
The German carmaker has signed a memorandum of understanding with GEM Co. Ltd. and battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) to set up a closed-loop recycling project, GEM said in a stock exchange filing on Monday. GEM will extract nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from discarded Mercedes-Benz EV batteries in China, and CATL will then use the materials in new batteries for the German auto giant.