More and more electric cars are bringing horsepower to the roads. As the use of these vehicles increases, the need for batteries will grow – and later the need for recycling. Local recycling of batteries and the recycling of their valuable raw materials are essential for a sustainable circular economy. Bosch Rexroth supplies BLC, The Battery Lifecycle Company, a joint venture between the REMONDIS subsidiary TSR Automotive and Rhenus Automotive, with one of the first automated systems for discharging and dismantling battery modules in Europe. It not only simplifies recycling, but also increases efficiency and enhances safety.
Electric vehicles need important raw materials, primarily lithium and cobalt, for their high-performance batteries. The efficient use of these resources is essential to reduce environmental, social, and economic loads. Important levers are the economical use and recovery of raw materials as well as the re-use of batteries.
Rhenus Automotive and the REMONDIS subsidiary TSR Automotive founded the company BLC, The Battery Lifecycle Company GmbH, with the aim of offering holistic battery recycling along the entire value chain. BLC takes care of all the processing steps from initial testing and deep discharge to repairing and dismantling the lithium-ion batteries, which mainly come from the automotive industry. The company accompanies a vehicle battery’s entire life cycle, with a focus on repair, reuse, and recycling.
“With optimum recycling, up to 95 percent of the chemical elements can be fed back into the battery production process. Our goal is to exploit this potential as efficiently as possible,” explains Lukas Brandl, Managing Director of BLC, The Battery Lifecycle Company GmbH.
One of the first automated systems for discharging and dismantling battery modules in Europe was built at the BLC location in Magdeburg with the aim of using resources efficiently.
“This plant is a milestone in the reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries from the mobility sector. Bosch Rexroth supplies the technology for this,” explains Brandl, who continues: “The decision to work with Bosch Rexroth in this area was a logical step for us. Bosch Rexroth’s expertise and innovative strength in automation technology are unsurpassed for us and have enabled us to develop an advanced system that combines speed and reliability.”
As part of a process patented by Bosch Rexroth, the automation solution takes over the innovative deep discharging of high-performance battery cells. This is the prerequisite prior to subsequent process steps to recover the raw materials, as only fully discharged batteries can be safely shredded and then broken down into their chemical components.
“The patented industrial automation solution for the critical step of deep discharging high-performance batteries shortens a process that previously took 24 hours to less than 15 minutes. So, we are gaining tremendous speed thanks to this development. At the same time, the solution offers associates perfect protection,” says Sebastian Krieger, Senior Manager Engineering and Sales Support within the Assembly Technology Business Unit at Bosch Rexroth.
And this is how the automated process works: the TS 5 transfer system from Bosch Rexroth transports battery cells of different sizes and types from various manufacturers between the diagnostic, discharging, and dismantling stations. After contacting, a modular solution from the automation system ctrlX AUTOMATION with the control system ctrlX CORE and the drive system ctrlX DRIVE discharges the battery cells in the discharge station. The discharging equipment automates the initial inspection, the patented deep discharging process with chemical inactivation, and the final check.
The TS 5 transfer system is designed for transporting heavy loads and flexibly meets the requirements of recycling lines as a roller conveyor system. Thanks to its robust design, it is particularly suitable for more demanding environments in the field of energy management or electromobility. Different combined modules open up high degrees of freedom for the targeted transfer of battery cells in any layout. Compared to systems with a standard chain drive, the TS 5’s king shaft drive and conveyor rollers allow virtually maintenance-free operation with low wear. The transfer system works seamlessly with the control system ctrlX CORE from the automation system ctrlX AUTOMATION. Its modern app technology offers a wide range of possibilities, for example to connect to Industry 4.0 tools to visualize processes in real time, for instance.
The compact ctrlX CORE controls the transfer and deep discharging process. For the discharging process, the development team at Bosch Rexroth has integrated all functions such as switchover management. Bosch Rexroth also uses apps that are already being used in the final tests at various battery manufacturers. Users can collect all process data via the ctrlX Data Layer and save it for quality assurance.
The drive system ctrlX DRIVE takes the energy from the discharging process. The energy is fed back via a DC regulator and mains power inverter either into a DC-bus, which supplies other loads in the line in an energy-saving manner, or back into the electricity grid. The discharging station thus reduces the external power requirements of the entire recycling facility and reduces CO2 emissions. The battery modules are chemically deactivated in a safe process and can be further processed de-energized.
Brandl emphasizes: “The automated discharging process developed by Bosch Rexroth not only simplifies recycling, but also increases efficiency and enhances safety. Modules can be deeply discharged within minutes. This is a huge productivity gain. The system detects different battery designs. Risks such as short circuits and fires are minimized.”
The interplay between the TS 5 transfer system and ctrlX AUTOMATION also offers a high degree of flexibility and adaptability to new requirements – and therefore future viability. Bosch Rexroth consistently relies on open communication and programming standards, which enables a seamless integration of the solution into existing environments. Thanks to the modular structure of the automation solution, future production capacities can be expanded cost-effectively and, for example, new battery cell types with improved performance features can be integrated without any problems.
“Thanks to Bosch Rexroth’s solution, we are ideally equipped to recover valuable resources and minimize the environmental footprint in the industry. We aim to recycle up to 15,000 tons of battery material every year at the Magdeburg location,” explains Brandl.
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