Vianode and Fortum Partner to Revolutionise EV Battery Recycling

What is the Vianode-Fortum Partnership for Recycled Graphite?

The Vianode-Fortum collaboration represents a strategic partnership between two industry leaders working to revolutionize battery material sustainability. Established through a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), this alliance brings together Vianode's expertise in advanced battery materials with Fortum Battery Recycling's established recycling infrastructure to create a complete circular economy solution for electric vehicle batteries.

At its core, the partnership aims to develop scalable, commercial-grade processes for recovering and reusing graphite—the most abundant material by weight in EV batteries. This initiative directly addresses the growing sustainability challenges in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market by establishing a closed-loop system where battery materials can be continually recovered and repurposed.

"This partnership demonstrates how recovered graphite can re-enter the value chain as a high-quality input for new batteries," explains Tero Holländer, Head of Fortum's Battery Business. This approach not only reduces waste but also decreases the carbon footprint associated with battery production.

How Will This Partnership Transform EV Battery Sustainability?

The collaboration marks a significant step forward in creating what industry experts call a "truly circular battery ecosystem" for Europe. By establishing reliable processes for graphite recovery and refinement, the partnership addresses a critical gap in current battery recycling process.

Most current recycling initiatives focus primarily on recovering valuable metals like cobalt and nickel, often neglecting graphite despite its abundance in batteries. The Vianode-Fortum partnership specifically targets this oversight, working to develop techniques that can efficiently recover and process graphite to battery-grade standards.

The refined graphite will be integrated into Vianode's low-carbon anode production, creating a continuous cycle of material use that significantly reduces the environmental impact of battery manufacturing. This approach aligns perfectly with the European Union's strategic goals for battery sustainability and reduced dependence on imported raw materials.

Why is Recycled Graphite Critical for EV Battery Production?

The Significant Role of Graphite in EV Batteries

Graphite constitutes the single largest component by weight in modern lithium-ion batteries, with approximately 70 kg used in each electric vehicle. This substantial quantity makes graphite recovery a high-impact opportunity for improving battery sustainability.

As an essential material for battery anodes, graphite provides the structure where lithium ions are stored during charging. Despite its importance, graphite has historically received less attention in recycling efforts compared to metals like cobalt and nickel, creating a significant sustainability gap in the battery value chain.

With global EV adoption accelerating rapidly, the demand for battery metals investment is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade. This growth trajectory raises concerns about both resource availability and environmental impact, making recycled graphite a strategic necessity rather than just an environmental nice-to-have.

Environmental and Regulatory Drivers

The European Union has implemented increasingly stringent regulations aimed at improving battery sustainability across the entire lifecycle. These regulations specifically mandate higher recycling efficiency rates and minimum recycled content in new batteries, creating both a compliance necessity and a business opportunity for companies in the battery value chain.

These regulatory frameworks serve multiple purposes:

• Reducing the environmental footprint of battery production
• Decreasing Europe's dependence on imported raw materials
• Creating economic opportunities within the circular economy
• Establishing Europe as a leader in sustainable battery technology

"Sustainable sourcing of graphite has become a critical challenge as e-mobility accelerates across Europe," notes the Battery Industry analysis. This challenge is compounded by the fact that much of the world's virgin graphite production is concentrated in regions with varying environmental standards and often significant carbon footprints associated with extraction and processing.

What Are the Technical Aspects of the Recycled Graphite Initiative?

Performance Optimization Process

Transforming recovered graphite into battery-grade material involves multiple sophisticated technical processes. The partnership has established a comprehensive refinement protocol that ensures recycled graphite meets or exceeds the performance standards required for next-generation batteries:

1. Initial recovery and separation from end-of-life batteries using Fortum's hydrometallurgical processes
2. Purification treatments to remove contaminants that could impact battery performance
3. Particle engineering to optimize size distribution and surface characteristics
4. Surface modification to enhance electrochemical properties
5. Comprehensive testing against commercial battery specifications

This multi-stage approach addresses the unique challenges of graphite recycling, which differs significantly from metal recovery processes. Unlike metals that can be melted down and reformed, graphite's performance depends on maintaining specific structural and surface properties throughout the recycling process.

Integration with Commercial Production

A key technical focus of the partnership involves preparing the recycled graphite for seamless integration into Vianode's commercial-scale production facilities. These facilities are being strategically developed to supply the growing European and North American battery cell manufacturing sectors.

The integration process involves:

• Standardizing quality control protocols to ensure batch-to-batch consistency
• Adapting production lines to accommodate recycled feedstock
• Implementing specialized blending approaches that combine virgin and recycled materials
• Developing certification processes that verify the recycled content and performance metrics

This integration strategy enables Vianode to incorporate progressively higher percentages of recycled content while maintaining the performance standards required by leading battery manufacturers.

What Carbon Reduction Goals Does the Partnership Target?

Vianode's Ambitious Carbon Footprint Targets

Vianode has established one of the industry's most aggressive carbon reduction goals, targeting a carbon footprint below 1 kg CO₂e per kg of graphite by 2030. This ambitious benchmark positions the company as an environmental leader in the battery materials sector, where typical carbon footprints for synthetic graphite production can range from 5-20 kg CO₂e per kg.

Dr. Stefan Bergold, Vianode's Chief Commercial Officer, emphasizes: "Access to recycled graphite directly supports our emission reduction targets while enhancing material circularity." This dual benefit creates a compelling business case that aligns environmental and economic objectives.

The carbon reduction strategy incorporates multiple approaches:

• Increasing recycled content percentages over time
• Optimizing energy efficiency in processing operations
• Utilizing renewable energy in manufacturing facilities
• Reducing transportation emissions through regional production
• Implementing continuous improvement processes for carbon accounting

Environmental Impact Perspective: Achieving this carbon footprint target would represent an approximate 80-95% reduction compared to conventional synthetic graphite production methods, making a significant contribution to reducing the overall carbon footprint of electric vehicles.

Supply Chain Security Benefits

Beyond environmental considerations, the partnership delivers substantial supply chain resilience benefits for European battery manufacturers. These advantages include:

• Reduced import dependence: Decreasing reliance on graphite imports from regions with potential geopolitical or supply chain vulnerabilities
• Price stability: Protection against volatile raw material pricing through diversified sourcing
• Supply guarantees: Creating multiple supply pathways to ensure continuous material availability
• Regulatory compliance: Meeting anticipated EU requirements for recycled content and carbon footprint disclosure
• Regional self-sufficiency: Supporting European strategic autonomy in critical battery materials

These supply chain benefits align perfectly with the European Union's strategic initiatives around energy transition minerals and battery production sovereignty, creating additional policy support for the partnership's objectives.

How Does Fortum's Recycling Infrastructure Support the Initiative?

The Harjavalta Hydrometallurgical Facility

Fortum's advanced hydrometallurgical recycling facility in Harjavalta, Finland, provides the technological foundation for the partnership's graphite recovery operations. This state-of-the-art facility represents a significant advancement over conventional battery recycling approaches.

The facility employs several innovations that make it particularly suitable for graphite recovery:

• Low-temperature hydrometallurgical processes that preserve graphite structure
• Advanced separation technology for isolating graphite from other battery components
• Automated sorting systems that increase throughput and efficiency
• Continuous process monitoring to ensure consistent output quality
• Modular design allowing for capacity expansion as volumes increase

This infrastructure provides a stable supply of recycled graphite concentrate that serves as the raw material for Vianode's further refinement processes. The facility's location in Finland also offers strategic advantages in terms of proximity to European battery manufacturing centers and access to renewable energy.

Fortum's Comprehensive Material Recovery Approach

Fortum Battery Recycling has developed a holistic approach to battery recycling that extends well beyond graphite recovery. Their processes efficiently recover multiple critical battery materials including:

This comprehensive recovery capability ensures that virtually all valuable components from end-of-life batteries can be reintroduced into the manufacturing supply chain, maximizing both economic and environmental benefits.

Industry Context: While many recycling operations focus exclusively on the most valuable metals like cobalt and nickel, Fortum's approach addresses the full spectrum of materials, reflecting a more advanced understanding of true circularity in battery manufacturing.

What Market Timing Factors Make This Partnership Strategic?

The Approaching First Wave of Battery End-of-Life

According to Tero Holländer, Europe is rapidly approaching its first significant wave of battery end-of-life volumes. This timing creates a perfect convergence of environmental necessity and business opportunity for recycling operations.

Several factors contribute to this impending surge in available batteries:

• The first generation of modern electric vehicles reaching end-of-life age
• Battery replacements from early EV models entering the recycling stream
• Production scrap from the expanding European battery manufacturing sector
• Warranty returns and damaged batteries from the growing EV fleet
• Battery system upgrades creating a secondary stream of replaced units

"By establishing these recovery processes now, we're positioning both companies to capture maximum value when volumes reach critical mass," explains Holländer. This proactive approach contrasts with the reactive recycling strategies that have characterized many other material recovery sectors.

Commercial Scaling Timeline

The partnership has established a strategic development roadmap that aligns with projected increases in available battery materials:

1. 2024-2025: Pilot-scale process refinement and product validation
2. 2026-2027: Initial commercial-scale implementation
3. 2028-2030: Full-scale deployment coinciding with peak first-wave volumes
4. Post-2030: Expansion to accommodate the much larger second wave of EV batteries

This phased approach allows for continuous technological improvement while maintaining commercial viability at each stage. The timing also aligns with the implementation schedule for various EU battery regulations, ensuring compliance from day one of commercial operations.

What Innovation Has Vianode Already Achieved in Recycled Graphite?

First Recycled Battery-Grade Graphite Product

Prior to the partnership announcement, Vianode had already developed and introduced its first recycled battery-grade graphite product to the market. This early achievement provides a solid technological foundation for the expanded collaboration with Fortum.

The existing product demonstrates several key innovations:

• Surface engineering techniques that restore key electrochemical properties
• Blending strategies that optimize the ratio of recycled to virgin material
• Quality assurance protocols specific to recycled content verification
• Performance validation methods that confirm equivalence to virgin materials
• Scalable production approaches compatible with industrial manufacturing

This head start gives the partnership a significant advantage in moving quickly from concept to commercial implementation, reducing technical risk and accelerating time-to-market.

Technological Readiness Assessment

Vianode's experience with recycled graphite processing has established important technical benchmarks that will inform the partnership's approach to quality standards and performance requirements. Their work has validated that recycled graphite can meet the demanding specifications of commercial battery manufacturers when properly processed.

Key performance parameters already validated include:

• Specific capacity (mAh/g) comparable to commercial synthetic graphite
• First-cycle efficiency within 1-2% of virgin material standards
• Cycle life meeting automotive requirements of 1,000+ cycles
• Swelling characteristics suitable for high-energy density cells
• Fast-charging capability meeting next-generation battery requirements

These technical achievements provide a strong foundation for scaling up production while maintaining the performance standards required by battery cell manufacturers.

How Does This Partnership Compare to Other Industry Initiatives?

Competitive Positioning in the Recycled Materials Market

The Vianode-Fortum collaboration enters a growing but still nascent field of battery material recycling initiatives. While multiple partnerships are forming around battery recycling, few have specifically targeted graphite recovery at commercial scale.

Notable competitive initiatives include:

• Altilium and Talga Group's similar cooperation on graphite recovery
• Shanshan's development of enhanced synthetic graphite products with partial recycled content
• North American initiatives focused primarily on critical minerals rather than graphite
• Various university-industry partnerships still in laboratory validation phases

The Vianode-Fortum partnership distinguishes itself through several competitive advantages:

1. Advanced technological readiness with existing recycled products
2. Established infrastructure through Fortum's Harjavalta facility
3. Direct connection to commercial battery supply chains via Vianode
4. European regulatory alignment with EU Battery Directive requirements
5. Comprehensive material recovery approach rather than cherry-picking valuable metals

Differentiation Through Integration

What truly sets this partnership apart is its vertical integration across the entire value chain—from battery collection through graphite recovery, refinement, and reintroduction into commercial production. This integrated approach creates multiple advantages over more fragmented initiatives.

The vertical integration benefits include:

• Quality control across the entire process
• Reduced transportation costs between process stages
• Optimized material specifications between recovery and reuse stages
• Streamlined compliance documentation for regulatory requirements
• Coordinated scaling of capacity across all process steps

This integrated approach positions the partnership to deliver both economic and environmental performance that exceeds what could be achieved through separate, uncoordinated recovery and reuse operations.

What Are the Economic Implications of Recycled Graphite Production?

Cost Structure Considerations

While specific financial details remain undisclosed, the economics of recycled graphite production involve several key factors that influence cost-competitiveness with virgin materials:

• Recovery efficiency impacts the effective yield and unit economics
• Energy requirements for processing significantly affect operational costs
• Quality control measures add overhead but ensure market acceptance
• Scale economies improve as volumes increase
• Process innovations continually reduce per-unit processing costs

As the partnership scales up operations, these economic factors are expected to continuously improve, creating a progressively stronger business case for recycled graphite utilization.

Industry Perspective: As battery manufacturers increasingly factor carbon footprint into their material sourcing decisions, recycled graphite's lower environmental impact provides an economic advantage beyond direct production costs.

Market Demand Projections

The partnership addresses rapidly growing market demand for sustainably sourced battery materials. This demand is driven by several converging factors:

1. Automotive OEM commitments to reduce supply chain carbon footprints
2. Regulatory requirements for recycled content and recyclability
3. Consumer preferences for environmentally responsible products
4. ESG investment criteria influencing capital allocation decisions
5. Supply security concerns driving interest in regional material sources

As these demand drivers intensify, the market value of recycled graphite is expected to increase relative to virgin materials, improving the economics of recovery operations and encouraging further investment in recycling infrastructure.

Furthermore, the integration of EV mining innovations and mining sustainability transformation creates a comprehensive approach to reducing the environmental footprint of the entire battery supply chain, from raw material extraction to end-of-life recycling.

FAQs About the Vianode-Fortum Recycled Graphite Partnership

What is the primary goal of the Vianode-Fortum partnership?

The collaboration aims to develop a sustainable, closed-loop value chain for EV battery materials, focusing specifically on scalable graphite recovery and reuse in low-carbon anode production.

How much graphite is typically used in an electric vehicle battery?

Approximately 70 kg of graphite is used in each electric vehicle battery, making it the single largest component by weight in lithium-ion batteries.

What carbon footprint target has Vianode set for its anode materials?

Vianode aims to produce anode materials with a carbon footprint below 1 kg CO₂e per kg of graphite by 2030, representing an 80-95% reduction compared to conventional production methods.

Where is Fortum's hydrometallurgical recycling facility located?

Fortum's advanced recycling facility is located in Harjavalta, Finland, and will supply recycled graphite concentrate for the partnership.

What other materials besides graphite does Fortum recover from batteries?

In addition to graphite, Fortum's recycling operations recover nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper, and aluminum—all critical materials subject to EU recycling regulations.

What regulatory factors are driving battery material recycling in Europe?

Tightening EU regulations now mandate higher recycling efficiency and minimum recycled content in new batteries, creating both compliance requirements and market

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