Case Fortum: Towards more efficient battery recycling with Tamtron’s solutions

Fortum is an international listed company that drives a change towards a cleaner world. The company provides clean energy and sustainable solutions to its customers and society. Fortum is also one of Tamtron’s important, long-standing customers. Tamtron has supplied sophisticated weighing and dosing technology for Fortum’s hydrometallurgical battery recycling plant in Harjavalta, Finland. 

Fortum has invested heavily in its battery business in recent years. Its Harjavalta plant contributes to Europe’s self-sufficiency by returning critical materials for battery industry to European production. The cooperation also contributes to strengthening Tamtron’s role in building both the Finnish and the European battery industry ecosystem.

Tamtron’s Sales Manager Juha Immonen says that the cooperation was initiated by Fortum’s contact with Tamtron, which was based on references about Tamtron’s portfolio and capabilities.

“In the beginning, we had a kind of calm phase, where we got to know each other and looked at what kind of project Fortum had coming up and what kind of solutions we could deliver to meet their needs. At that stage, the discussion mostly concerned weighing, but we also presented our big bag handling solutions. Overall, Fortum’s representatives were very good at asking about the kind of technology the company needed.”

Battery recycling solutions in a fast timeframe

As Fortum’s own planning process progressed, it did so at a brisk pace. Along the way, there were also some scheduling challenges. However, Immonen says these issues are quite common in large industrial projects.

“Projects often involve many contractors, and now and then the different phases of the work have to wait a little while for each other. Naturally, this stretches schedules. Despite this, we managed to agree on a reasonable time for our delivery and managed it without causing delays for Fortum.”

Immonen says that the earlier Tamtron is involved in a project, the more comprehensively the company can offer its experience and expertise for the benefit of the customer. He sees Fortum’s implementation as a good example and feels that Tamtron’s value increased during the project.

“We were able to add a lot of consultative value by guiding technology choices and paying attention to different aspects, such as the surrounding solutions of the actual project. This allowed us to implement solutions that best suited Fortum’s overall needs in a way that they were comfortable with.”

As a result of the project, Fortum has a Tamtron material receiving system for its hydrometallurgical recycling process. This involves unloading big bags and dosing materials into the process.

“In addition to unloading big bags the recycling process includes elsewhere the dosing of, for example, powdered additives with the desired capacity and accuracy. For these needs, we provide receiving stations that are filled by material suppliers,” Immonen explains.

Looking to the future of battery recycling

According to Immonen, Fortum is an important customer and reference for Tamtron, but at the same time, he sees opportunities for expansion in cooperation in weighing and system supply.

“Fortum will play an increasing role in the battery recycling sector, and we recognise this potential. Naturally, we want to invest in it ourselves and be involved with a growing sector.”

The Fortum project is a natural part of Tamtron’s development. The company’s Lahti unit (formerly Lahti Precision) has in recent years invested heavily in the development of technology for the battery industry and has made several technology deliveries to plants of this sector in Europe. In addition, a significant number of circular economy companies have improved their operations through Tamtron’s digital mScales weighing service.

“Of course, we help our customers both upstream and downstream, whatever the industry. We have many years of experience, solid knowledge, and state-of-the-art technology to provide weighing and dosing solutions, which ensures that we always find the most suitable options for our customers”, Immonen sums up.