Umicore will manufacture an alloy that will be further refined into cobalt, nickel and other metals with the expended pack material, and then convert the cobalt into high grade lithium cobalt oxide, which can be resold to battery manufacturers.
A byproduct of this is a clean inertized slag containing calcium oxides and lithium, which is used in the production of special grades concretes.
Tesla director of energy storage systems Kurt Kelty said that the company, while working to help lessen global dependence on petroleum-based transportation and drive down the cost of electric vehicles, is also taking the lead in developing a closed loop battery recycling system.
