Hydrovolt opens the world’s most automated battery recycling line

On October 30th, Hydrovolt opens a new production line dedicated to the discharging and dismantling of batteries. The semi-automated line is the first of its kind in the world for battery recycling.

Hydrovolt's plant in Fredrikstad consists of two facilities, where this facility focuses on the collection, discharging, and dismantling of electric vehicle and industrial batteries.

In 2022, Hydrovolt's operators began manually dismantling electric vehicle and industrial batteries. By building knowledge and experience on how modern battery packs are constructed, the company has developed the world's most automated production line for discharging and dismantling batteries on an industrial scale.

We are the first to have an industrial and automated setup for battery discharging and dismantling. This is an important milestone for us and for a new industry that is developing and experiencing rapid growth

Ole-Christen Enger, CEO of Hydrovolt.

The company has built the production line based on innovative technology and its own experiences. The project has received 15.3 million in support from Enova and will contribute to increased efficiency and improved safety in battery recycling.

We store the residual energy, that previously went to waste, from collected batteries in a battery bank as part of the new line. This energy can be used for the facility's own consumption or be sold to the power grid as needed. It's a win-win solution and a great example of flexible, circular solutions

Helge Refsum, Chief Technology Officer at Hydrovolt.

With the support of the battery bank, Hydrovolt can annually recover approximately 1 GWh of electricity from the used batteries the company handles. This will be enough to power large parts, and potentially the entire facility, based on residual energy from collected batteries. Additionally, the company can support the power grid during periods of higher demand.

By using these solutions and the company's automated guided vehicles between various workstations, the new production line will provide increased knowledge about the best way to recycle large quantities of industrial batteries. The technology is now being commercially implemented on a large scale at the facility in Fredrikstad, with plans to use it at future facilities in Europe.