Norwegian battery recycler Hydrovolt has signed a cooperation agreement with the Icelandic Recycling Fund (IRF) to collect end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles and industrial applications in Iceland and transport them to Norway for recycling at its facility in Fredrikstad.
The agreement extends Hydrovolt’s Nordic operations and establishes a recycling route for batteries reaching the end of their service life in Iceland. The company says the partnership supports its strategy to recover materials from used batteries across the region.
Iceland Establishes a Battery Recycling Route
The Icelandic Recycling Fund administers extended producer responsibility requirements, under which companies placing products such as batteries on the market are responsible for their collection and proper treatment at the end of their useful life. The fund manages recycling fees under Icelandic law, including those applicable to electric vehicle traction batteries.
The agreement comes as electrified vehicles account for a growing share of Iceland’s car market. Hydrovolt reports that battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids together represent 17% of the country’s passenger car fleet. The company also puts the electrified share of new-car sales at nearly 80%, including hybrids.
Íris Gunnarsdóttir, who is responsible for e-waste and batteries at the IRF, said the growth in battery volumes makes recycling capacity increasingly important.
“As battery volumes continue to grow, it is important that appropriate recycling solutions are in place,”
The partnership is intended to establish a system for handling end-of-life batteries while recovering valuable materials for potential reuse.
From Battery Packs to Recovered Materials
Hydrovolt offers battery importers services covering battery assessment, potential second-life applications, collection, transport and recycling. Under the Iceland agreement, collected batteries will be shipped across the North Atlantic to the company’s Fredrikstad facility, south of Oslo.
Hans Bjerkaas, chief commercial and development officer at Hydrovolt, said the company’s logistics and recycling processes would support material recovery.
“Through our logistics network and recycling process, we will ensure the recovery of critical raw materials from the batteries at high recovery rates,”
The Fredrikstad plant began operating in May 2022 and is designed to process 12,000 tonnes of battery packs annually, equivalent to batteries from approximately 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles.
Its mechanical and dry processing system begins by discharging, dismantling and shredding battery packs. Aluminium, copper and plastics can then be separated, while the remaining material forms a fine powder known as black mass.
Black mass contains valuable battery materials, including lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. These metals require further chemical processing, which Hydrovolt carries out with specialist partners.
In 2024, the company agreed to work with Fortum, which processes black mass at its hydrometallurgical facility in Harjavalta, Finland. Hydrovolt reports an overall recycling rate approaching 100%, although actual recovery rates can vary by material and process.
Expanding Across Northern Europe
Hydrovolt is authorised to operate as a battery treatment facility in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, helping manufacturers and importers meet their extended producer responsibility obligations.
The company entered Sweden in February 2026 and expanded into Denmark in September 2026 with partner KABoB. Iceland represents its latest step in extending collection and recycling services across the Nordic region.
Hydrovolt also announced plans in 2024 to expand beyond Scandinavia, selecting Hordain in northern France as a location for an initial collection and dismantling operation.
Hydrovolt’s Ownership After Northvolt’s Exit
Hydrovolt was established in 2020 as a joint venture between aluminium producer Norsk Hydro and battery manufacturer Northvolt. Northvolt withdrew from financing the business in November 2024, leaving Hydro as its majority owner.
In January 2025, the companies agreed that Hydro would acquire the remaining shares for NOK 78 million, approximately €6.7 million, increasing its ownership from 72% to 100%. Completion was planned for the end of the first quarter of 2025 and was subject to conditions that included court approval in Northvolt’s US bankruptcy proceedings. Northvolt subsequently filed for bankruptcy in Sweden in March 2025.
The Iceland agreement adds another collection market for Hydrovolt as it develops a regional network for processing end-of-life batteries and recovering materials for the battery supply chain.