Sortbat’s Expansion Highlights the Need for Sorting and Recycling

ReUse project partner Sortbat is expanding its battery activities in Norway, reflecting the growing volumes and increasing diversity of batteries entering Europe’s waste and recycling streams.

At its Norwegian operation, Sortbat handles batteries from electric vehicles, machinery and marine applications, covering different battery chemistries and an increasing share of LFP batteries.

This development highlights a challenge at the heart of ReUse. As the use of LFP batteries continues to grow across mobility and other applications, increasing quantities will eventually reach end of life. Efficient identification and separation will therefore be essential for directing these batteries towards suitable recycling processes.

Within ReUse, Sortbat’s activities are centred at its facility in Tienen, Belgium, where it contributes to the development and validation of automated, sensor-based identification and sorting of LFP batteries from mixed end-of-life lithium-ion battery streams. Sortbat also brings practical expertise in the safe handling, storage and transport of LFP battery waste, helping connect technology development with the realities of industrial battery management.

The Norwegian operation is not a ReUse demonstration site. However, Sortbat’s expansion in Norway provides a practical illustration of the growing industrial need for scalable solutions capable of identifying, separating and processing increasingly diverse battery streams. Efficient sorting is an important first step in the ReUse recycling chain. Separating LFP batteries from mixed end-of-life streams and creating more consistent feedstock can support the direct recycling technologies being developed by the project’s downstream partners.