8
2021
Techtalks
BMW goes circular over batteries
BMW Group plans to open a lithium-ion bat-
tery recycling facility to generate a closed and
sustainable material cycle for automotive bat-
tery cells.
The pilot plant is to be built in Parsdorf, near Mu-
nich, as part of a EUR 110 million investment. It is
scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2022
with about 50 employees. The German Federal
Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Bavarian
ministry are both supporting the project.
This is not BMW’s first investment in batteries
as the company opened its Battery Cell Compe-
tence Centre in Munich last November. This in-
novative site covers the entire battery cell value
chain from research and development to battery
cell composition and design through to capacity
for large-scale manufacturing.
The recycling hub will enable BMW to test
new systems and innovative production pro-
cesses. ‘Our goal is to optimise near-standard
production of battery cells from the perspective
of quality, performance and costs,’ says Milan
Nedeljković, member of the BMW board. ‘The
pilot plant will enable us to close the final gap in
the value chain from battery cell development,
from the production of modules and powertrain
components, to the installation of fully assem-
bled high-voltage batteries at our vehicle plants.’
Apple-spotting know-how boosts plastic recycling
A UK company that uses artificial intel-
ligence (AI) to advise farmers on how many
apples to expect from their annual crop is also
helping plastic recycling companies to be more
efficient and profitable.
Technology Research Centre (TRC) works with
clients to find solutions to a market threat or a
new opportunity with the one goal of providing
clients with a genuine commercial advantage.
In the US, computers mounted on tractors scan
orchards to calculate the number of apples or
similar fruit per tree.
TRC’s technical expertise is being applied to two
British companies that have won Government
funding to find innovative solutions to plastic
waste.
In a partnership with Luxus, the aim is to use
AI and machine learning to predict the most ef-
ficient uses for the various plastic scrap consign-
ments received at Luxus’ Lincolnshire facility. If
the year-long pilot is successful, it will result in
a far more efficient process for this part of their
production.
TRC is also working with RPC Containers, part
of the international Berry Global group, on the
separation of the different materials in hard-to-
recycle multi-layered packaging such as crisp
packets. A pilot is underway which is expected
to lead to the processing of 15 000 tonnes a year
by 2021.
Andy Watts, TRC’s commercial development
manager, says their new method is not a version
of existing pyrolysis technology. ‘Material comes
in as a co-laminated material and comes out as
the same materials, just not laminated anymore.
The materials are in the same form – just not
stuck to each other.’
Executive director Andrew Miles insists, ‘Every-
thing we do is undertaken when someone tells
us they want to be more efficient and to make
more profit. That’s a key differentiator’.
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