Manchester-based IT recycling business The SER Group, has launched Cellcycle, a specialist battery recycling division to process and recycle the expected surge in the UK’s end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap. Early indications suggest around 350,000 tonnes of expired electric vehicle batteries will be recycled in the UK by 2040.
Compliance with accreditation benchmarks has already been secured with the company holding both its Approved Battery Exporter (ABE) and Approved Battery Treatment Operator (ABTO) permits, which uniquely places Cellcycle amongst just a handful of fully accredited recycling companies in the UK qualified to treat and recycle end-of-life batteries without the need for expensive exportation.
Cellcycle’s facility will dismantle batteries before the mechanical and chemical separation recycling processes are completed. When fully dismantled and disassembled, there are several applications for the recyclable extracted raw materials – for example, cobalt can be used within the chemical industries, lithium is recycled for rechargeable batteries, copper for electrical wiring, and aluminum for cans and foils.
Cellcycle will offer a truly circular economy solution and is an important first step on the UK’s journey to create an ethical and sustainable supply chain for batteries that will be increasingly necessary when transitioning to a Net Zero future.
Gary Mo, Managing Director the SER Group comments:
“The battery market in the UK is growing exponentially and with the introduction of new legislation, the demand for battery recycling innovation in the UK is rapidly rising. Moreover, we, as a nation, will not reach carbon neutrality without increasing our investment and development of new technologies and recycling opportunities, particularly as the demand for electric vehicles increases, therefore establishing Cellcycle was a priority for us.”
Currently, most companies in the UK export their end-of-life and redundant batteries to Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world for material-level recycling and face heavy transportation costs associated with that service.
Cellcycle will now change that, according to its Battery Division Director, Jeff Borrman.
“We are aiming to provide businesses with a closed-loop battery recycling process directly here in the UK that will not only be cost effective for customers but more sustainable too.
“With a reduction in the requirement to export, transportation costs will be kept to a minimum, but more importantly, recovering valuable materials from a range of different types of batteries like lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride whilst maintaining a zero-carbon footprint is key to progressing towards compliance with the UK’s Green Agenda.
The valuable materials that are recovered through this process will help provide manufacturers and other businesses within the UK battery supply-chain with the resources to produce new, more sustainable battery technology”
