Stellantis, which has its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture with French nuclear materials company Orano to recycle end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and scrap from gigafactories in North America and Europe.
The move will strengthen the automaker’s position in the electric-vehicle battery value chain by securing additional access to cobalt, nickel, and lithium necessary for electrification and energy transition, according to Stellantis.
“The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals has confirmed the need to find solutions like this one with Orano to meet the challenge of natural resource scarcity and sustainability,” says Alison Jones, senior vice president of the circular economy business unit at Stellantis. “Guided by our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis is committed to shifting its production and consumption model by fulfilling its circular economy commitment.”
The joint venture will be designed to capitalize on Orano’s low-carbon technology, which breaks with existing processes by allowing the recovery of all materials from lithium-ion batteries, and the manufacturing of new cathode materials.
The joint venture will produce materials also known as “black mass” or “active mass.” This can be refined in Orano’s hydrometallurgical plant to be built in Dunkirk, France, so that the materials could be re-used in batteries, thus closing the loop of a circular economy.
Thanks to its pre-treatment approach and hydrometallurgy technology, the recovery rates of metals can reach levels of more than 90 percent. Orono says. It enables OEMs to reach European Commission levels of recycling rate into batteries of electric vehicles and ensure the sustainability of the business model.
In a context of increased demand for strategic metals and Europe’s strong dependence on those metals, Orano positions itself as a key player in the integrated value chain, from battery recycling to the production of cathode materials.
“We are delighted with this partnership with a major player such as Stellantis to work together in the recycling of used electric batteries,” says Guillaume Dureau, group director of innovation, R&D, nuclear medicine, magnets, and batteries at Orono. “We are proud to bring our expertise and know-how with our innovative and disruptive process, which allows a real closed loop. Orano continues its commitment to developing a low-carbon economy with the recycling of strategic materials for the energy transition and the circular economy.”
As part of Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, its Circular Economy Business Unit is pushing to increase recycling revenues by 10 times and achieve more than $2.12 billion in total circular economy revenues by 2030. Stellantis says it’s on track to become a carbon net zero corporation by 2038, all scopes included, with single-digit percentage compensation of remaining emissions.
The new commercial recycling entity also will provide Stellantis’ partners, its after-sales network, and other OEMs with a solution to manage end-of-life batteries and scrap from gigafactories. Production will begin in the first part of 2026, reusing existing Stellantis assets and facilities. Investments to reskill and upskill Stellantis and Orano employees will open sustainable perspectives for people in their new assignments.
The joint venture is subject to agreement on definitive documentation.
