Fortum will collaborate with Hydrovolt, a joint venture between Northvolt and Norsk Hydro, on battery recycling in the future. The partnership is intended to establish Northern Europe as a pioneer in battery circular economy.
Disassembly in Norway, processing in Finland
As part of the collaboration, Hydrovolt will mechanically shred electric car batteries at its battery recycling plant in Fredrikstad, Norway. The resulting black mass will then be transported to Fortum Battery Recycling’s hydrometallurgical plant in Harjavalta, Finland. There, the metals are extracted for use in the production of new lithium-ion batteries.
Fortum operates Europe’s largest hydrometallurgical plant
Hydrovolt has been operating its battery recycling plant in Fredrikstad since May 2022 and has an annual battery pack processing capacity of around 12,000 tons. In April 2023, Fortum opened its hydrometallurgical recycling plant for battery materials in Harjavalta, which is considered the first commercial and largest battery recycling plant of its kind in Europe.
