Europe’s Electric Car Batteries Could Be Recycled by Utility

Fortum Oyj says it has the technology and capacity to recycle all of Europe’s electric car batteries for the coming years.

The utility said it’s developed technology, at its plant in Harjavalta in western Finland, to recycle most of the metals and plastics used in lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars. By using recycled material to make new batteries, as much as 90 percent of the carbon emissions can be reduced compared with using freshly mined minerals.

“Our goal is for an absolute majority of the recycled components to be used in new batteries,” Kalle Saarimaa, head of Fortum’s recycling ...