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COLLABORATION toward large recycling centres, accord- cation and the growing battery production “Recycled material could account
ing to the analysis. due to electric mobility will drive the for up to 30 percent of the demand
ABB and Northvolt join hands to electrify world’s recycling market in Europe. In order for lithium, nickel, and cobalt in bat-
The EU will create legal frame- to still be able to process all recyclable tery cell production in 2035 and could
largest battery recycling facility work conditions for battery recycling materials from 2035, market players will double this share by as early as 2040.
throughout Europe from 2023 with its have to spend another €7-bn on their This suggests that a completely closed
Automation major, ABB, and Sweden’s World Economic Forum fi gures which us achieve both of these goals as we revised Battery Directive. The directive recycling capacities,” said PEM Director battery market will not emerge in the
battery cells and systems supplier, show the demand for batteries is ex- work towards our mission of building sets such things as higher recovery tar- Professor Achim Kampker, co-author of next 20 years,” said Dr. Jörn Neuhausen,
Northvolt, are further strengthening pected to increase 14-fold by 2030 due the world’s greenest battery.” gets and recycling effi ciencies, as well the study ‘The EU recycling market – A co-author and Senior Director E-Mobi-
their collaboration in the fi eld of green to the adoption of electric vehicles. as a minimum proportion of recovered viable and sustainable business’. lity at PwC’s Strategy & Germany.
batteries. Since 2017, ABB has been As increasing numbers of batteries material in new batteries. According to
delivering key electrifi cation and auto- ABB will deliver switchgears and in the market reach end-of-life, recy- the analysis, after initial overcapacities, Currently, a value chain is being The team of authors expects the
mation equipment to power Northvolt variable speed drives to the facility, cling via Revolt Ett’s battery materi- the recycling market will be fully uti- built up consisting of the preparation, combination of high material volumes
Ett gigafactory for lithium-ion batte- which will match the speed of the pro- als recovery and hydrometallurgical lised from 2030 onwards, requiring pre-treatment and main processing and low recycling costs to create an
ries in Sweden. This partnership is now cesses taking place in the factory, ramp- (hydromet) processes is set to supply investments of more than €2.2-bn segments of battery materials. Further ideal market environment for the bat-
being expanded to include battery re- ing power up and down as required, up to 50% of Northvolt Ett’s raw mate- for the annual processing of around technological specialisation, for exam- tery industry. “Recycling of batteries
cycling with ABB providing process saving energy, improving performance rial needs for lithium, nickel, cobalt 570,000 tonnes of battery material. ple, could reduce the high total invest- will be a profi table and sustainable
electrifi cation to power the world’s and lowering maintenance. and manganese by 2030. By that point ment by up to 50%, according to the business in Europe even before 2035,”
largest battery recycling facility, Revolt in time, Northvolt aims to have the “The general increase in electrifi - analysis. said Dr. Neuhausen.
Ett, being established by Northvolt in Greener batteries capacity to manufacture 150-GWh per
Skellefteå, northern Sweden. Financial The facility is a key part of North- annum across its operations in Sweden SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL
details were not disclosed. The order volt’s sustainability ambitions and will and Germany.
was booked in the fi rst quarter of 2023. start operations in 2023. The company Asahi Kasei announces production of 4-inch aluminium
plans to reduce the carbon footprint of “This is ABB’s fi rst order within
Revolt Ett, the recycling site, will its batteries to 10 kg CO e per kilowatt the strategically important battery re- nitride substrate
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ultimately process 125,000-tpa of end- hour (kWh) by 2030, compared to an cycling segment. In conjunction with a US-based Crystal IS, a company of Founded in 1997 to develop native
of-life batteries and battery production industry reference of 98 kg CO e per trusted partner in Northvolt, this project the Japanese chemicals group, Asahi AlN substrates, Crystal IS manufac-
2
waste, making it the largest plant of its kilowatt hour (kWh). Key to achieving offers us the opportunity to help our Kasei, has announced the successful tures UVC LEDs on its commercial
kind in the world. It will service North- this target, Northvolt Ett is powered by customers avoid carbon emissions, re- production of a 4-inch (100-mm) dia- process for 2-inch diameter substrates.
volt’s gigafactory on the same site, 100% fossil-free energy. use material and protect critical supply meter single-crystal aluminium ni- These LEDs enable industry-leading
which brought one production block chains,” said Mr. Staffan Södergård, tride (AlN) substrate. “This is the fi rst reliability and performance at the ideal
online in 2022 and will establish others “Batteries are a critical technolo- Business Unit Manager, Battery Manu- reported aluminium nitride substrate at germicidal wavelengths from 260-
to reach an annual production capacity gy within the energy transition,” said facturing, Process Industries, ABB. this size and demonstrates the scalabi- 270 nm. The current capacity of the
of 60-GWh. Ms. Emma Nehrenheim, Chief Environ- ABB became Northvolt’s partner in lity of Crystal IS processes for growing facility can meet the volume require-
mental Offi cer at Northvolt. “But with 2017, from the inception of the produc- AlN bulk single-crystals to meet pro- multiple layers of substrate materials. ments for consumer devices using
Northvolt supplies a range of lithi- massive growth in battery demand it er’s research and development campus duction demands for this semiconduc- They can be designed so that a wave- UVC LEDs based on the existing
um-ion batteries to the automotive, in- is critical that we secure solutions to in Västerås, Sweden. Since then, ABB tor material,” the company said. length can be inputted and emit photons 2-inch production line.
dustrial, and large-scale energy storage recycle batteries and ensure reliable, is also invested in Northvolt through in the UV-C (the shortest wavelength of
sectors that support the global energy sustainable supply of critical minerals. ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), the AlN substrates have low defect ultraviolet light) range. UV-LEDs have Crystal IS currently produces
transition. The producer aligns with This new facility Revolt Ett will help venture capital unit of the ABB Group. densities, high UV transparency, and applications in the fi eld of water treat- thousands of 2-inch substrates annu-
OUTLOOK low concentrations of impurities. AlN ment, optical data storage, communi- ally to support the production of its
is attractive for a variety of industries, cations, biological agent detection and Klaran and Optan product lines. The
Over €9-bn will be needed by 2035 for battery recyc- such as UVC LEDs and power devices, polymer curing. commercialisation of 4-inch AlN
due to its ultra-wide bandgap and very substrates will quadruple the device
ling in EU: Report high thermal conductivity. According to “Our latest accomplishment signi- output of the existing footprint of the
Crystal IS, the 4-inch substrate produced fi es that aluminium nitride is commer- Green Island (USA) facility. It will
A joint study out by Germany’s next decade or so. Shortly before the published the study on the European shows a usable area of over 80% based cially viable for new industries beyond also enable the development of new
RWTH Aachen University and lead- updated EU Battery Regulation comes battery recycling market with Stra- on current requirements for UVC LEDs. just UVC LEDs,” said Dr. Naohiro applications on AlN substrates as it
ing consultancy, PwC, forecasts that into force, the chair “Production Engi- tegy & – part of PwC network. Due Kuze, Executive Fellow at the Research integrates into existing fabrication
battery recycling will become a pro- neering of E-Mobility Components” to high investment costs, the current Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are Laboratory of Advanced Science and lines for power and RF devices using
fi table enterprise in the EU within the (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University structure of the value chain will move semiconductor devices made up of Technology, Asahi Kasei. alternative materials.

170 Chemical Weekly September 5, 2023 Chemical Weekly September 5, 2023 171

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