Excited visitors: This week, Rolf Einar Fife, ambassador of Norway to the EU, and Aud Kolberg, ambassador of Norway to Sweden, visited Hydrovolt’s battery recycling plant in Fredrikstad. Also present at the visit was Rønnaug Mysterud and Morten Halleraker, both from Hydro, and Stine Ask, Helge Fredheim and Anders Bakken from Hydrovolt.
I’m really excited to see a Norwegian-Swedish collaboration in the green shift like the one Hydrovolt represents, and which so well expresses the ambition we have in this field
Aud Kolberg, ambassador of Norway to Sweden said when visiting the Hydrovolt plant in Fredrikstad this week
Together with Rolf Einar Fife, Kolberg spent several hours on the plant Monday morning, learning more about Hydrovolt’s vision for green industry in Norway and Europe.
Hydrovolt was launched in June 2020 as a joint venture between the Norwegian energy and aluminum company, Hydro, and the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt. Two years later, in May 2022, Hydrovolt started commercial recycling operations at the Fredrikstad plant.
In August, Hydrovolt took over the Norsk Stål Tynnplater premises in Fredrikstad together with nineteen new employees – highly valuable in a tight working market. During this fall, Hydrovolt will install production facilities for a large-scale process for discharging batteries to zero volts, dismantling battery modules, and an automated closed-loop process for crushing and shredding. The battery electrolyte will be evaporated off and collected, and the remaining solid materials are sorted into fractions of plastics, aluminum, copper and black mass.
“An inspiring force”
Today, Hydrovolt is Europe’s largest electric vehicle battery recycling plant, with the capacity of 8,000 tons battery modules per year. 8.000 tons of battery packs equals 25.000 electric vehicles. This is sufficient to handle current Norwegian battery end-of-life market volume, with capacity to receive additional volumes from European market.
In parallel, Hydrovolt is exploring possibilities for expanding its capacity in other European countries.
Today’s end-of-life volumes are small, but they will increase dramatically. By 2030, 250,000 tons of batteries will reach their end-of-life in Europe
Anders Bakken, CFO at Hydrovolt.
The ambassadors were excited to learn about Hydrovolt’s ambition within the recycle used EV batteries.
Hydrovolt represents a vision that meets all the requirements we have for a European green transition. This is precisely why European countries and the EU see to Hydrovolt as an inspiring force for circular innovation
Rolf Einar Fife, ambassador of Norway to the EU
“A perfect example”
Hydrovolt has put Fredrikstad on the map as a significant location for the green industry in Norway.
In June, Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, visited the Hydrovolt plan together with Jan Christian Vestre, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry. Šefčovič and Vestre also signed a joint declaration on enhanced cooperation in the field of batteries and raw materials.
“Even at the end of their life, batteries are valuable. Inspiring to visit with Minister Vestre at the Hydrovolt facility in Norway. A perfect example of Norwegian-Swedish-EU cooperation to ensure that no eV battery is ever wasted, once they retire from the market“, Šefčovič tweeted after the visit.
Busy battery plant
- May 24th Hydrovolt started its commercial recycling operations at the Fredrikstad plant.
- June 22th Hydrovolt was awarded the prestigious Fornybarprisen (“Renewables Award”) in Norway.
- June 27th Jan Christian Vestre, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, and Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, visited Hydrovolt in Fredrikstad.
- August 1th Hydrovolt took over the Norsk Stål Tynnplater premises in Fredrikstad. Nineteen new employees joined Hydrovolt.