BLC opens facility in Magdeburg

BLC – The Battery Lifecycle Company GmbH (BLC) is opening a new business site in Magdeburg and it provides the first fully automatic battery deep discharge facility in the world.

BLC can process the batteries for safe recycling and optimal use of the raw materials through dismantling and discharging them there – and also offer repairs for the expensive batteries for electric vehicles. One focal point for the company involves implementing a degree of automation that is unique in the sector too. The goal is to reduce the workload on the employees and make the processes more efficient and safer.

Modern battery recycling: BLC opens the world’s first fully automatic deep discharge facility in Magdeburg Modern battery recycling: BLC opens the world’s first fully automatic deep discharge facility in Magdeburg
BLC can process up to 15,000 tonnes of batteries per year at the new site in Magdeburg harbour, marking an important step in the company’s capacity expansion.

BLC is a joint venture involving the affiliated companies, Rhenus Automotive and TSR Automotive GmbH, and it accompanies the life cycle of vehicle batteries with a major emphasis on repair work, reuse and recycling; it also offers automobile manufacturers solutions for reusing batteries from electric vehicles. Previously just operating from its business site in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, BLC is now opening its next facility in Magdeburg. The new centre in the port of Magdeburg will be able to process up to 15,000 tonnes of batteries per annum, about six times more than in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. This means that BLC is opening one of the largest facilities in Europe and it marks an important step in expanding the company’s capacity.

Instead of constructing a new building, BLC has redeveloped an existing property and adapted it to the individual requirements of battery recycling. The batteries undergo fully automatic deep discharge in Magdeburg and the aim in future is to complete this dismantling work with the support of robots. “Electric batteries weigh as much as 700 kilograms and have about 180 screws. Dismantling them is associated with considerable effort. If the employees here have to handle each screw manually, this is detrimental to their health, motivation and process efficiency. We want to prevent that,” says Florian Karlstedt, a member of the management team at BLC. While robots loosen the screws in the batteries, the employees in the factory can concentrate on the tasks in each specialist department – for example, quality controls, cable connections or data analyses. “This high level of automation hasn’t been common in the sector up to now, as the processes are very complex and very sophisticated,” Florian Karlstedt continues. BLC is planning to process batteries in future for recycling that saves resources. Making available tested modules for 2nd life solutions, which are inserted into large stationary storage systems (BESS), is already an integral part of the company’s daily business. “We can then achieve a new degree of expansion that makes the company a leading innovator in the sector and is absolutely essential for this kind of automation,” says Lukas Brandl, who is also a member of the management team at BLC, adding his comments. Thanks to its close connections with Rhenus Automotive and TSR Automotive, BLC can build on the expert knowledge that is available in logistics, handling waste and raw materials as well as battery handling – and is present in the infrastructure that reflects automobile standards here.

BLC is creating between 30 and 40 long-term jobs in the region by opening the new facility and is therefore making an important contribution to strengthening the local economy. The new business site not only has ideal transport connections at the Magdeburg motorway junction, but also has a very central location in Eastern Germany. As a result, it is quick and easy to reach customers located in the vicinity in Wolfsburg, Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig, for example. “We want to be where our customers are in order to create logistical operations that are as efficient as possible.” Lukas Brandl explains.