Hydrovolt partners with Danish group to recycle EV batteries

Norwegian battery recycler Hydrovolt has signed a collaboration agreement with Kollektiv Ansvarsordning, or KABoB, Denmark's producer responsibility organization, to provide collection, transportation, and recycling services for industrial and electric vehicle batteries in Denmark.

According to a joint statement released Sept. 1, the new agreement gives KABoB's members and its collection network access to Hydrovolt's recycling capacity, combining regulatory compliance with a treatment solution designed to provide a high recycling performance for end-of-life batteries.

Under Danish law, companies that place batteries on the market must register, report the volumes they sell or import, and pay producer responsibility fees, the statement said. KABoB administers these processes for its member companies and manages a collective scheme for vehicle batteries imported into Denmark.

Hydrovolt will recycle batteries collected under the collaboration at its recycling plant in Norway. According to the company, the facility has an annual capacity of 12,000 mt of battery packs—equivalent to about 25,000 electric car batteries.

"We are proud to partner with Hydrovolt and to introduce their expertise and experience from the Norwegian market to Denmark," said Claus Bjerring, CEO and founder of KABoB. "There are many similarities in the restructuring of the car fleets, and therefore the needs and challenges will be known to Hydrovolt, which will benefit our members, as well as the entire market."

Hydrovolt said the partnership is intended to help Danish battery importers access efficient and sustainable recycling services as EV deployment accelerates. "We look forward to working with KABoB to offer our solutions and services to the Danish importer network," said Hans Bjerkaas, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and Development at Hydrovolt. "Our unique experience and market insight from Norway will be valuable for importers who need efficient, sustainable and competent solutions for battery recycling in the Nordic region."

The companies said the collaboration reflects the pace of electrification in Denmark, where electric cars are approaching a 25% share of the total car fleet and account for more than 95% of new private car sales this year. According to the statement, this trend will increase the number of end-of-life batteries in the coming years, making a robust recycling system important for safe battery treatment and the sustainable recovery of battery materials.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed cobalt payables at 85% ex-works Europe on Sept 1, unchanged both day over day and week over week, based on European cobalt metal. Nickel payables were also 85% and stable day over day and week over week, referencing London Metal Exchange nickel. Platts assessed lithium payables at zero on Sept 1, unchanged since its April 2023 launch.