Honda announces new EV battery recycling deal

Honda is expanding its battery recycling partnership with French firm SNAM for end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The pan-European arrangement will see SNAM collect and recycle batteries from Honda’s hybrid and electric vehicles and either potentially prepare them for ‘second-life’ renewable energy storage uses or extract valuable materials for recycling.

Honda and SNAM have worked together since 2013 to ensure the traceability of end-of-life batteries and dispose of them in accordance with European Union environmental standards.

The expansion of this agreement will see SNAM collect Lithium-ion and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries from across Honda’s dealer network and Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATF) in 22 countries, before analysing how suitable they are for recycling and processing them accordingly.

Dealers can arrange and request the collection of end-of-life batteries for treatment and recycling through SNAM’s dedicated online platform.

Collection can be arranged from centralised storage hubs within 15 working days, so that dealers do not have to store batteries at their premises.

The agreement applies to large ‘traction’ batteries used to power motors in hybrid and electric vehicles, as opposed to smaller batteries used for ignition in petrol or diesel cars.

Tom Gardner, senior vice president at Honda Motor Europe, said: ‘As demand for Honda’s expanding range of hybrid and electric cars continues to grow so does the requirement to manage batteries in the most environmentally-friendly way possible.

‘Recent market developments may allow us to make use of these batteries in a second life application for powering businesses or by using recent improved recycling techniques to recover useful raw materials which can be used as feedstock into the production of new batteries.’

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