Battery Solution, LLC and Refind Technologies have entered into an agreement to acquire Refind’s state-of-the-art battery sorting technology. Battery Solutions is the first US based company to invest in automated sorting and data collection technology to manage waste batteries.
The system from Refind sorts up to 2,500 pounds of batteries per hour and will significantly improve existing sorting capabilities currently used by Battery Solutions. Batteries are recognized by their visual characteristics and are then separated by air ejectors at a speed of more than 10 batteries per second.
This technology investment increases efficiency and reduces costs while collecting detailed data about the batteries: information about brand, model, size and age can be retrieved from every single battery. The compiled data will give broader insight and knowledge into the multibillion-dollar US battery market. The two companies have agreed to work closely to further develop the applications for the information collected.
“For Battery Solutions, the investment is well aligned with our strategy to enhance our leadership in sorting and treating batteries while exploring new insights from the collected data,” said Thomas Bjarnemark, Battery Solutions CEO. “It’s particularly important as more states and countries realize the environmental and economic benefits of collecting and recycling batteries, especially alkaline, for which Battery Solutions is the leader in the US.”
“For Refind, it’s an important first step into the US market with a customer that shares our vision of sorting as an important driver for battery recycling,” said Hans Eric Melin, CEO of Refind. “We are committed to work with Battery Solutions in developing this tool to significantly increase the rate of battery collection in the US and keep spent batteries out of the landfills.”
Battery Solutions’ collection process allows customers to put all battery chemistries into one container. When received by Battery Solutions, the batteries must be sorted by chemistry before being recycled, just like sorting paper from plastic in single stream recycling. This has been a time consuming and expensive, but absolutely necessary step for successful battery recycling since the Michigan based company started in 1991. The new technology is one of many steps Battery Solutions is using to bolster its capabilities.
