Volkswagen Group United Kingdom Ltd (VWG UK) has signed an agreement with battery recycling company Ecobat to collect and recycle electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Ecobat has a longstanding relationship with VWG UK dating back to 2014 when it started collecting lead acid batteries for TPS, the Volkswagen Group Genuine Parts provider to the independent motor trade. The contract was expanded in 2019, when Ecobat started working with high-voltage batteries, and since the company’s UK Diagnostics and Disassembly Centre in Darlaston in the West Midlands was opened, it has processed and upgraded many thousands of batteries.

Under this latest agreement, Ecobat will collect EV batteries to recycle lithium-ion battery materials. The company will collect high-voltage batteries from dealers, distributors, and end-of-life recycling centres using Ecobat’s ADR compliant vehicles. Batteries will be processed at Ecobat’s new UK lithium-ion recycling centre. This is Ecobat’s third lithium-ion recycling facility, in addition to facilities operating in Germany and Arizona.

“I’m pleased to be extending and expanding our relationship with Ecobat” said Director of One Aftersales for Volkswagen Group UK, Sylvain Charbonnier. “As we move to decarbonise road transport, the number of electric vehicles in our car parc is rapidly increasing, and we need to ensure sustainability throughout the lifecycle. Working with our trusted partners, we are confident we can reassure our dealers and customers that we are responsibly moving towards our electrification goals.”

“We have been recycling lead batteries for VWG UK for a decade, and we are delighted to be able to extend our relationship to recycle EV lithium-ion batteries” said Elliott Ethridge, Vice President of Global Sales for Ecobat. “Lithium-ion is a fast-growing technology, and our recycling operations can handle everything from small-format batteries to EV batteries. We also recover scrap, byproducts, end-of-life, and damaged products to help make lithium-ion battery production more sustainable. Our expertise in recycling and recovering scarce battery materials will benefit both Volkswagen Group and the environment.”