As per the agreement, Ecobat will be collecting used batteries from Volkswagen cars to recycle, Electrive writes, recovering as much battery materials as possible from spent batteries to use in future lithium-ion cells.

As per Volkswagen officials, the partnership will help the German carmaker "close the loop to promote a circular energy economy and ensure the UK’s largest automotive Group is doing all it can to boost sustainability."

Ecobat currently operates two battery recycling facilities in Europe, one in the UK and another in Germany, while its third plant is currently under construction in the US. Ecobat is a company that is specialized in recycling most types of batteries on the market, including lead-acid models. Volkswagen operates its own pilot recycling plant in Germany, but currently, the German carmaker can't recycle EV batteries at scale, which is why it needs the help of third parties for now.

Sylvain Charbonnier, Director of One Aftersales for Volkswagen Group UK, said that "as we move to decarbonize road transport, the number of electric vehicles in our car parc is rapidly increasing, and we need to ensure sustainability throughout the lifecycle."

Elliott Ethridge, Vice President of Global Sales at Ecobat, added that "we have been recycling lead batteries for VWG UK for a decade, and we are delighted to be able to extend our relationship to recycle EV lithium-ion batteries."