Vitesco Technologies and Kyburz Switzerland AG have entered a cooperation agreement to jointly industrialize a recycling process for lithium-ion batteries developed by Kyburz, Vitesco said on May 21.
Under the said agreement, the two companies plan to join forces and pool in their expertise to bring the next generation of recycling systems for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to market maturity in Germany.
While Kyburz will bring its expertise in the battery recycling process, Vitesco looks to contribute its extensive expertise in process automation and production technology.
The partnership between the two companies comes at a time when increasing demand for low-cost battery chemistries such as LFP or the upcoming sodium ion technology poses new challenges for the already established battery recycling industry.
According to Vitesco, only lower process costs are expected to make it possible to recycle such inexpensive batteries at a cost-covering rate, and the direct recycling process developed by Kyburz is aligned with such requirements.
Notably, Kyburz has been operating a recycling plant at its headquarters in Freienstein, Switzerland, since 2020.
Vitesco and Kyburz plan to collaborate at the Limbach-Oberfrohna site in Germany, the German automotive component supplier said in its note.
Commenting on the partnership, Martin Kyburz, CEO of Kyburz, said, “There is no doubt in our minds that electromobility is coming. The key to this is low-cost batteries, which make recycling these batteries unattractive for many recyclers. With our processes, we are helping to resolve this conflict of interest.”
Adding to that, Olivier Groux, head of battery recycling at Kyburz, said, “By collaborating with the Vitesco Technologies site in Limbach-Oberfrohna, which has decades of experience in the field of process automation and production technology, we have found an ideal partner to make our processes suitable for series production and to be able to serve demanding customers from different industries.”
The cooperation agreement between Vitesco and Kyburz aims to make battery recycling economical, efficient and sustainable, particularly for the low-cost batteries.
“At the same time, the collaboration offers attractive future prospects for the Limbach-Oberfrohna site, where series production of diesel injectors will be phased out by 2028,” added Vitesco’s site manager Carsten Czenkusch. “With sustainable battery recycling, we are bringing a promising future technology to the site — naturally also with the aim of securing jobs in the long term.”
