As electric vehicle adoption accelerates and demand for battery materials continues to rise, Northvolt is expanding its efforts to establish a circular battery ecosystem through its in-house recycling program, Revolt. Designed to recover valuable metals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and production scrap, the technology aims to transform used batteries into battery-grade raw materials for the next generation of cells.
Northvolt views recycling as a fundamental element of sustainable battery manufacturing and has been investing in the Revolt program since 2019. The company has developed and validated a recycling process that combines mechanical processing and hydrometallurgical treatment to recover critical materials while minimizing environmental impact.
The recycling chain begins with the collection of batteries and production scrap through a dedicated logistics network. Upon arrival, batteries are safely discharged to remove residual energy, with recovered energy reused wherever possible to power subsequent stages of the recycling process. Battery packs are then dismantled, allowing modules to be separated while recovering materials such as aluminum, cabling, plastics, and other components for further recycling.
Following dismantling, batteries undergo a mechanical crushing and sorting stage. Cells are shredded and processed using a range of separation techniques to isolate metals and plastics. Copper and aluminum are recovered during this stage, while the remaining material is concentrated into a fine powder known as black mass. Northvolt also recovers electrolyte during the mechanical processing phase.
The black mass contains valuable battery constituents, including lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt. To extract these materials, Northvolt employs a proprietary hydrometallurgical process. Through this treatment, it purifies the metals to battery-grade quality suitable for use in new cathode materials. The recycled metals are chemically equivalent to those obtained through mining, enabling them to serve as direct substitutes in cell production.
Northvolt has demonstrated the viability of this approach by producing cathode material using 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt at Northvolt Labs. Electrochemical testing confirmed that cells manufactured using these recycled materials delivered performance equivalent to cells produced using freshly mined metals.
Northvolt highlights that its recycling process provides substantial environmental benefits. Cathode materials produced using feedstock recovered through the Revolt process have a carbon footprint approximately 80% lower than the industry average. By recovering battery-grade metals rather than relying exclusively on mining, the process also helps reduce the environmental and ethical challenges associated with raw material extraction while improving supply-chain security.
The entire recycling chain is integrated at Revolt Ett in Skelleftea, Sweden, which Northvolt describes as Europe's largest fully integrated battery recycling plant. The facility incorporates battery discharge, dismantling, mechanical processing, and hydrometallurgical refining within a single operation, enabling recovered materials to be fed back into battery manufacturing.
Northvolt's long-term ambition is to establish a closed-loop battery ecosystem in which valuable metals remain in circulation rather than being discarded. The company is targeting a future in which recycled materials provide a significant share of the raw materials required for cell production, reducing dependence on virgin resources and supporting the development of a more sustainable battery industry.
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About Northvolt
Founded in 2016, Northvolt is a European battery technology company focused on developing sustainable lithium-ion batteries and circular manufacturing processes. The company designs and manufactures battery cells and energy storage systems while also operating its in-house Revolt recycling program.
