STORY / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Its world record in electric cars is creating a battery recycling revolution in Norway
- Published 18 July 2022; updated 30 September 2026; estimated reading time 6 minutes. The page uses historical EV-adoption figures: 50% of Norwegian new-car sales were electric by early 2021 and 79.3% in 2022. It argues that high EV uptake generates end-of-life and recalled batteries that support a domestic recycling industry.
- Hydrovolt, which began operations in 2022, is described as Europe’s largest EV-battery recycling plant and Norway’s first. The article gives annual capacity of 12,000 tonnes, enough at that time to handle Norway’s end-of-life EV-battery market. Its automated process is said to recover up to 95% of battery materials, including aluminium and black mass containing lithium, manganese and cobalt. Former Hydrovolt CEO Fredrik Andresen says Norwegian EV adoption and recalls helped create enough feedstock to justify investment; an editorial note identifies him as now CEO of Batteriretur, which recycles all battery types.
- The article credits tax and policy support with driving EV uptake: through 2022, EVs were exempt from VAT and registration fees, and it says Norway had the highest number of public charging points per capita. It notes the government’s aim to develop a complete battery chain from raw materials and components through use, collection and recycling, and cites over USD 5 million in Enova grant support for the Hydrovolt venture.
- FREYR Battery co-founder/chair Tom Jensen says recycling must be included in supply-chain decarbonisation. The article describes a planned gigafactory in northern Norway and says FREYR intended to require globally sourced suppliers to certify compliance with human-rights, labour and environmental standards. Those statements describe the company’s plans as presented in the article and should be read as historical.
- The page argues Norway can participate in the European battery chain through the EEA single market and alignment with EU regulations. It discusses EU requirements around circularity, traceability and recycling, and Hydrovolt’s participation in the European Battery Alliance. The article’s then-current metrics say the alliance had nearly 500 industrial partners and European battery investment was approaching EUR 100 billion, around 30 times the 2017 level.
- It presents recycling as both a sustainability measure and a potential business, asserting that efficient production with less waste can reduce costs. The article contrasts Norwegian renewable electricity and recycling expertise with China’s battery manufacturing scale and cites a source claiming China had 125 gigafactories. It ends with company expectations that the Norwegian battery ecosystem could grow; these are perspectives/forecasts, not verified outcomes.
- Related links: Hydrovolt, FREYR Battery, Batteriretur, Enova, European Battery Alliance, and Battery/Energy industry pages. The page links to Invest in Norway contact but has no named article-level contact block.