Volkswagen expands battery recycling contract for UK

27 February 2024

Volkswagen in the UK has expanded its relationship with Ecobat to recycle its end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.

Volkswagen Group UK has announced it has extended and expanded its recycling contract with Ecobat. Under the terms of the new deal, Ecobat will collect Volkswagen Group UK-based vehicles that have end-of-life batteries and extract recyclable components. The agreement includes Volkswagen, Cupra, Audi and Skoda badged electric vehicles.

The batteries will be taken to Ecobat's new lithium-ion recycling facility, the company's third such facility, adding to existing sites in Arizona and Germany.

I’m pleased to be extending and expanding our relationship with Ecobat. As we move to decarbonise road transport, the number of electric vehicles in our car parc is rapidly increasing, and we need to ensure sustainability throughout the lifecycle.

Sylvain Charbonnier, Director of One Aftersales @ Volkswagen UK

Ecobat and Volkswagen UK has been working together since 2014, when the original contract saw the former recycle lead acid batteries for TPS, VW's genuine parts business. In 2019, the contract was extended in 2019 to include high-voltage batteries.

Elliott Ethridge, Vice President of Global Sales for Ecobat, said: “We have been recycling lead batteries for Volkswagen Group UK for a decade, and we are delighted to be able to extend our relationship to recycle EV lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion is a fast-growing technology, and our recycling operations can handle everything from small-format batteries to EV batteries. We also recover scrap, byproducts, end-of-life, and damaged products to help make lithium-ion battery production more sustainable. Our expertise in recycling and recovering scarce battery materials will benefit both Volkswagen Group and the environment.”