TYVA Refill: TYVA Energie's battery reconditioning technology

Lithium batteries: a green solution?

Issues concerning lithium batteries have never been as relevant as today. Even if it represents a substitute to lead batteries, to many people it is not a trully ecological solution because of the materials it requires and the impact of its production. There are many received opinions concerning lithium batteries, yet what is the reality about it? We invite you to discover the “A contresens” documentary that came out in 2020 which addresses the topic based on testimonies collected in the field, as well as observations realized by industry experts. We can see that batteries are manufactured with controlled materials, most of whom being part of materials bank and therefore part of the circular economy, for a infinite use of resources that are on land and no longer underneath it.

But what is it like in practice? Corepile, which is the 2nd European eco-organization dealing with portable batteries and accumulators (in terms of volume collected), has recycled more than 10 000 tons of cells and small batteries in 2019. For many years dynamics have been established at European level within which TYVA Energie fits since 2013.

TYVA Refill technology

In 2013 TYVA Energie set up TYVA Refill, its own battery reconditioning solution fitting the circular economy model.

We recover our customers’ at end-of-life batteries within our dedicated workshop inside our production site – it takes approximately 3 to 5 years for a lithium battery to cease operating. Then we dismantle batteries to collect lithium cells that needs to be replaced while keeping the original core pack. New cells are inserted to batteries which afterward are closed up and resend to their owner after being subject to assay run.

Learn more and watch the video dedicated to TYVA Refill patented technology.

To date, we already collected more than 12 000 at end-of-life lithium batteries core packs. We are working side by side with Corepile who has already collected and recycled several tons of TYVA Energie’s old batteries cells since 2021. Recolted materials are then reused to build new products for the industry sector: zinc, manganese, cobalt, etc. Raw materials are brand new again and get offered a second life with a new shape suitable for there new application field!

A solution conform to the rules

Battery reconditioning has always been a major issue rooted inside TYVA Energie’s DNA in accordance with the promise of sustainability regarding our products. This measure was implemented in 2013 and appears to be perfectly in line with the latest European regulations adopted in 2022 concerning batteries and batteries’ waste. These regulations aim to entrench lithium batteries inside the circular economy model, ensure competitiveness thanks to batteries’ eco-design but also move towards a more advanced waste management.

More sustainable batteries

Thanks to controlled carbon footprints and materials rates coming from waste recovery to stick to, the regulation aspire to improve waste’s sustainability while encouraging its recycling and its materials’ collecting. This measure also implies materials that are easy to take away in order to be replaced as done with TYVA Refill technology.

European competitiveness

The regulation aims to anticipate resources involved in batteries’ manufacturing in order to miligate risks related to supplying as well as providing strategic autonomy to the European Union. This measure also intends to favor batteries’ eco-design so that their transformation and trade would no longer be condensed in a limited number of countries as is currently the case. These guidelines lead to vigilance concerning social and environmental impacts all along the batteries manufacturing value chain.

Waste management

It will be imperative for cars, electric vehicles as well as industrial batteries’ waste to be systematically collected in order to establish a successful transition to a circular economy. Minimal collection rates planned according to the European Commission’s original suggestion were increased, for instance a 85% objective is required for collected batteries aimed for light means of transport before 2023.

For the first time in European legislation, the Battery Regulation lays down a holistic set of rules to govern an entire product life cycle, from the design phase to end-of-life. This creates a new approach to boost the circularity of batteries and introduces new sustainability standards that should become a benchmark for the entire global battery market. Batteries are a key technology for fostering sustainable mobility and for storing renewable energy.

Simona BONAFÈ
Rapporteur (S&D, IT)

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