Closing the Loop: Recycling Production Side Streams
3 October 2025 at 11:37 EEST
The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is accelerating, and with it comes a growing need for sustainable battery management in not only end-of-life electric vehicles, but in production waste as well. IONCOR, a leading independent European battery systems provider, and Fortum Battery Recycling have partnered since 2019 in recycling non-conforming battery materials in Finland and in Germany.
IONCOR manufactures battery systems for automotive, bus, truck and off-highway OEMs. Fortum Battery Recycling collects, recycles and refines the non-conforming battery materials from the production process to ensure that valuable materials are recovered and reused. The collaboration began in 2019, when the Salo battery plant was part of Valmet Automotive’s EVS business line.
“All materials with quality deviations are carefully examined and sorted, in order to minimize production waste. What cannot be returned to the production line is recycled at Fortum’s Harjavalta plant through hydrometallurgical processes”, says Jarrod Luxton, Director Sustainability, IONCOR.
Ensuring Compliance and Minimizing Environmental Impact
The partnership with Fortum Battery Recycling helps IONCOR prepare for new EU regulations for battery recycling, ensuring compliance and minimizing environmental impact.
Alongside manufacturing batteries for various automotive brands, including Mercedes-Benz (48V batteries) and Volvo (plug-in hybrid batteries), IONCOR produces their own modular battery systems especially for bus, truck and off-highway segments.
“Fortum Battery Recycling’s expertise in recycling processes is a valuable source of information for IONCOR’s product development team, ensuring that future battery designs are optimised for circularity & end-of-life recovery”, Luxton tells.
A Collaborative Approach: Regular Discussions and Continuous Improvement
The success of the IONCOR-Fortum Battery Recycling partnership is rooted in regular meetings, open communication, and a shared commitment to continuous improvement. These ongoing discussions focus on recycling processes, safety considerations, and transportation efficiency. A testimonial of the close collaboration is found in Germany, where the two companies are neighbors in the same building in Kirchardt.
IONCOR is a leading European supplier of battery systems for electrified vehicles and applications. The company focuses on heavy-duty bus and truck segments, off-highway machinery, such as construction, material handling, agriculture, mining, and forestry, and the automotive industry. IONCOR offers modular battery products, customized solutions, and contract manufacturing services to drive electrification across its customer segments. IONCOR, founded in 2019, has produced more than 3 million battery systems to its customers. The company operates technology and battery test centers and three high-volume battery system plants in Finland and Germany.