JX Metal and Volkswagen cooperate to promote power battery recycling

Recently, in order to promote battery recycling, German auto giant Volkswagen has cooperated with JX Metals, a subsidiary of Japan's ENEOS Holdings, to launch demonstration experiments for vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling in Germany and Japan. The goal is to commercialize power battery recycling in Germany by 2030.

It is reported that with the support of the German government, Volkswagen has established a consortium with JX Metals and local universities. JX Metals will provide technology to extract rare metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel from power batteries. JX Metal hopes to take the initiative in the power battery recycling market by cooperating with Volkswagen, the world's leading electric vehicle manufacturer.

According to industry analysis, the global electric vehicle market such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles is expected to grow from 6 million in 2020 to 30 million in 2030, an increase of 4 times. With the rapid popularization of electric vehicles, the global power battery market is expected to reach 53 trillion yen by 2050, an increase of 12.25 times over 2019.

Global power battery manufacturers are planning to expand production. However, the competition for rare metal resources is becoming increasingly fierce, and the soaring price of power batteries is also worrying. Countries are committed to promoting the recycling of power batteries, and the EU plans to make the use of its recycled materials mandatory from 2030. In terms of the development of power battery recycling technology, Japan's Green Innovation Fund will support it as a decarbonization technology development object. So far, no efficient recycling technology has been established in the field of power batteries. Therefore, in the current situation, it is cheaper to buy new raw materials. However, due to concerns about the shortage of mineral resources, various power battery manufacturers are accelerating the development competition.