Gipuzkoa develops a strategy to generate economic activity around the recycling and reuse of batteries

The Department of the Environment of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, through the Foundation for the fight against Climate Change, Naturklima, has signed an agreement with CIDETEC to implement a shared plan for the recycling of batteries in order to generate economic activity in Gipuzkoa.

José Ignacio Asensio: “The development of batteries is essential for us to achieve progress in terms of energy transition and circular economy, because in Gipuzkoa we must increase our capacity to produce secondary raw materials from recycling.”

Javier Rodríguez: “CIDETEC’s vast knowledge throughout the entire battery value chain will enable us to focus our innovation-based strategy on specific targets.”

The Department of the Environment of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, through the Foundation for the fight against Climate Change, Naturklima, has signed a collaboration agreement with CIDETEC to implement a shared plan for the recycling of batteries in order to generate economic activity in the region. This agreement was signed this morning at the Regional Government offices by the government delegate for the Environment and president of Naturklima, José Ignacio Asensio, and the general director of the Cidetec foundation, Francisco Javier Rodríguez Parra.

The goal of this partnership is to improve scientific, technological, and management expertise in order to establish a value chain for battery recycling and reuse in Gipuzkoa.

In this respect, Government Delegate and Naturklima President José Ignacio Asensio emphasised that “We are fully aware of the opportunity that exists for Gipuzkoa in the development of a global strategy which includes the infrastructure and technological activities required to generate a battery recycling industry across the value chain. To that effect, robust lines of research and information exchange between top centres of expertise in the field and government must be formalised as the foundation of current and future policies on circular economy, climate change, and sustainability. ” Likewise, Asensio highlighted that “the development of batteries is essential for us to achieve progress in terms of energy transition and circular economy, because in Gipuzkoa we must increase our capacity to produce secondary raw materials from recycling.”

The Department of the Environment has as one of its goals the promotion of the circular economy in partnership with the territory’s corporate and social fabric. The GIPUZKOA KLIMA 2050 Strategy establishes this. The goal of the European Union to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 requires the electrification of carbon-intensive industries, including transportation. Gipuzkoa aspires to become a competitive participant in the global market for batteries for electric cars, which are an essential and crucial component of this electrification.

The recovery of high-value materials or their usage in other applications or re-manufacturing processes at the end of a battery’s useful life demands a robust industrial recycling network that ensures the sustainability and circularity of the whole recovery process. In short, having a complete battery recycling value chain.

CIDETEC, a technological centre committed to conducting research and development initiatives in the fields of energy and battery storage, surface coatings, and nanomedicine, is one of these agents. The energy storage centre, in particular, specialises in the creation of new generations of batteries and energy storage technologies. Its activities include the development of materials and cell technology, cell production and prototype, battery pack engineering, energy storage applications, battery modelling and simulation, and battery testing and characterization.