Automaker Stellantis and nuclear energy company Orano have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture to recycle EV batteries and scrap.

Stellantis will have access to cobalt, nickel and lithium from gigafactories in Europe and North America for electrification and energy transformation. The joint venture will produce “black mass” or “active mass.” This will be refined in a new hydrometallurgical plant Orano will build in Dunkirk, France. Metal recovery rates can exceed 90%, according to Orano. Production will commence in early 2026 using Stellantis assets and facilities.

The new JV will also provide Stellantis’s partners, its after-sales network, and other OEMs with a solution to manage end-of-life batteries and scrap from gigafactories.

“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,” said Stellantis Senior VP, Circular Economy Business Unit, Alison Jones.

Source: Stellantis