EBRD helps Poland build first recycling plant for car batteries
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed a €25 million loan to help Poland become the site of the first facility in the EU for recycling both car batteries and other waste containing metals.
The EBRD financing for Poland's Elemental Holding will be part of a wider package raised to finance the construction of the pioneering facility, which will be one of the first in the world to treat spent lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other waste containing metals that are critical for e-mobility. The project is in response to the rapid rise of electric vehicles.
The facility is co-financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development with the support of the European Commission. The plant will produce secondary metals and other materials that can be reused as raw materials for new batteries or other applications, providing an essential service in the lithium-ion batteries value chain. These batteries are a core component of electric vehicles, sales of which are forecast to overtake those of petrol- and diesel-powered cars as the transition to a low-carbon economy progresses.
