Sweden is advancing its position in the European battery landscape with a €2.4 million initiative aimed at establishing a fully circular and traceable battery value chain.
The project brings together Smartports, Rebaba, Stena Recycling, OKQ8 Group, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, with €1.1 million in funding from Vinnova, the country’s innovation agency. The collaboration targets testing, upcycling, deployment, and responsible end-of-life recycling of EV batteries to support sustainable energy infrastructure and reduce dependency on fossil-based systems.
Smartports will leverage second-life battery technology to integrate energy storage systems into its solar carports and EV charging hubs at commercial properties nationwide. The approach allows property owners to lower energy costs, optimize local solar generation, participate in demand-response programs, and minimize the need for costly grid upgrades, demonstrating a commercially viable model for circular battery deployment. Julian Lundberg, CEO of Smartports, emphasizes that the project merges cost efficiency with sustainability, highlighting the practical potential of repurposed EV batteries.
The initiative divides responsibilities across the consortium to cover the entire battery lifecycle. Rebaba is tasked with scaling next-generation circular energy storage solutions, moving from pilot demonstrations to nationwide commercial deployment. Stena Recycling will focus on collection, upcycling, and responsible recycling, ensuring maximum material recovery and extended battery life. OKQ8 Group will implement Human Rights Due Diligence across the value chain, aligning practices with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to improve transparency and accountability. RISE will provide applied research, testing, lifecycle assessments, and performance validation to support system scalability and reliability.
Ida Langborg of Vinnova notes that Sweden’s competitive advantages, access to raw materials, fossil-free electricity, and technical expertise, make the country well-positioned to strengthen energy resilience while advancing the green transition. Stina Ulfsdotter Starborg of RISE adds that battery reuse is central to building a resource-efficient and resilient energy system, with research and validation critical to scaling high-performance circular solutions.
Running from 2025 to 2028, the initiative is expected to lay the foundation for large-scale deployment of second-life energy storage across Sweden, reinforcing the country’s leadership in circular battery technologies.
