In the light of the growing demand for batteries and for the recycling of the raw materials contained, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, Bosch has developed suitable machines, equipment and software. Bosch Rexroth supplies in fact Battery Lifecycle Company, a joint venture between TSR Recycling, sister company of Remondis, and Rhenus Automotive, with the first fully automated system in Europe for the discharge and the disassembling of battery modules in its headquarters in Magdeburg. The site will test the worn-out batteries from several manufacturers, will carry out their complete discharge and will prepare them for the successive dismantling.
This pilot project is the first that uses such discharge solution patented by Bosch: battery modules will be chemically deactivated by means of a reliable process, which will allow executing the following processing without voltage. Modules’ residual energy can be used to operate the recycling system. The project includes ergonomically flexible workstations for the technical analysis and the safe dismantling of batteries, transfer systems for the transport of batteries of different classes and weight and, finally, software to guide players in the various process phases. Bosch also offers a solution of traceability and monitoring of the conditions, of the origin of the material and of batteries’ processing status.
Stefan Hartung, president of Bosch Board of Directors, stated: “The electromobility will succeed in successfully spreading in the long term only if the sufficient raw materials for the production of batteries will be available. Recycling plays a fundamental role, concerning this, and helps us make the production more sustainable. What we do now will determine tomorrow’s course. The batteries that are currently installed in vehicles will reach their life end within 10-15 years. We must benefit from this time lapse to create the necessary recycling capacity “.
