Electric vehicle manufacturers face two resource issues. The first involves mining the raw materials to produce large lithium-ion batteries. The second centers on the disposal and recycling of such power packs once the vehicle is no longer in commission. For French multinational mining and metallurgy company Eramet, the second issue presents an opportunity to centralize battery production in Europe.
Currently, corporations mine the necessary resources to manufacture batteries outside of Europe’s borders. In order to leverage the precious metals recovered from dead EVs, Eramet partnered with French utility company SUEZ, engineering college Chimie ParisTech, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to form the ReLieVE project.
