Scholz joins Mercedes-Benz for opening of battery recycling plant

German automaker Mercedes-Benz has opened its first vehicle battery recycling factory in the southern German town of Kuppenheim on Monday.

The factory will in future recover recyclable materials for more than 50,000 new battery modules every year, the car manufacturer announced.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who attended the opening ceremony, said the factory combines two passions of the Germans, cars and recycling.

Scholz earlier toured the plant with Mercedes-Benz chief executive Ola Källenius and had the processes explained to him.

What Mercedes is planning in Kuppenheim makes sense, said Scholz.

Källenius described the factory as a "milestone on the road to greater sustainability in raw materials."

According to the Stuttgart-based Mercedes-Benz, the factory's concept covers all steps from shredding the battery modules to drying and processing the recyclable materials.

Mercedes expects a recovery rate of more than 96%.

In the mechanical process, plastics, copper, aluminium and iron are sorted first.

In the downstream process, the metals cobalt, nickel and lithium are then extracted individually.

According to Mercedes, these recyclates are of battery quality and are therefore suitable for the production of new vehicle battery cells.

In view of the planned transition to electric vehicles, recycling is likely to become increasingly important in the coming years.

Initially, the batteries can still be used in the so-called "second life," for example as storage units. However, recycling could later reduce Germany's dependence on imported raw materials, particularly from Asian countries.