Joint venture to specialize in recycling electric vehicle batteries

Norsk Hydro and Northvolt have set up a joint venture that will focus on the recycling of both battery materials and aluminum from Norway’s electric vehicle sector.

In an announcement Monday, battery manufacturer Northvolt said the venture, dubbed Hydro Volt, would set up a “recycling hub” in Norway, with operations there slated to begin in 2021.

The hub, in the city of Fredrikstad, will be “highly automated” and used to crush and sort lithium-ion batteries. Initially, it will have the capacity to process over 8,000 tons of batteries per year.

Recycling at the facility will produce both aluminum and something called black mass, which refers to a…