‘Shift toward fully automated, AI-enabled sorting’

The battery recycling sector is on the brink of exponential growth, driven by mounting regulation, extended producer responsibility requirements and the need for reliable recovery of critical raw materials, according to Richard Thompson, vice president, portfolios, innovation & digital, at Smiths Detection.

‘As chemistries diversify and designs evolve, manual systems will be unable to keep pace with throughput and compliance demands,’ says Thompson in an online interview with event organiser ICM promoting the upcoming battery recycling conference ICBR2025. ‘We foresee an industry shift toward fully automated, AI-enabled, high-purity sorting solutions as the standard.’

Joint venture

Smiths Detection is driving innovation in the circular economy by entering the battery recycling market. Through a new joint venture with Europe’s sorting tech provider Sortbat and the research institute Vito, the company is applying detection expertise to tackle what Thomson calls ‘one of the most urgent sustainability challenges of our time’.

Smart line ‘a first’

Smiths Detection claims to have the first fully automated sorting line capable of identifying and classifying every type of portable battery under 5kg, including packs of all chemistries, with better than 98% accuracy. ‘The goal is clear: safer operations, cleaner inputs and a more profitable, sustainable circular economy.’

The International Congress for Battery Recycling (ICBR2025) takes place on 10-12 September in Valencia, Spain.