Stena Recycling AB, a subsidiary of the Stena Metall Group, is a Swedish-based leader in sustainable industrial solutions, specializing in recycling and circular economy innovation. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, the company employs over 1,900 people across 90 facilities in Europe, processing diverse materials such as metals, plastics, electronics, and batteries. Stena Recycling supports a wide range of industries—including automotive, manufacturing, and public services—by transforming waste into reusable raw materials, advancing resource efficiency, and reducing environmental impact.
Its core services span material recycling, strategic circular consulting, and secure data destruction, with a notable focus on lithium-ion battery management for electric vehicles (EVs). Partnering with industry leaders like Northvolt and Nissan, Stena Recycling aims to create closed-loop systems that recover critical battery metals while minimizing reliance on virgin resources. The company’s global operations, advanced recycling facilities, and emphasis on innovation position it as a key player in Europe’s transition to sustainable energy and mobility.
Battery Technology
Stena Recycling is a pioneer in lithium-ion battery recycling, addressing the growing demand for zero-emission mobility solutions. The company operates Europe’s first large-scale EV battery recycling plant in Halmstad, Sweden, capable of processing up to 4 tons of battery material per hour. This facility employs advanced hydrometallurgical and mechanical processes, recovering over 95% of valuable metals—including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and aluminum—while avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions typically associated with pyrometallurgical methods. Its upcoming plant in Ausenfjellet, Norway, set to open in summer 2024, will process 3,000 tons of EV batteries annually, further expanding its recycling capacity.
The company leverages AI-driven diagnostic systems and machine vision to evaluate battery health, enabling efficient sorting and repurposing for second-life applications. This extends battery lifecycle use cases, such as energy storage systems, while streamlining recyclable material streams. Stena Recycling collaborates with partners like Freyr Battery (now T1 Energy) and BASF to refine collection, analysis, and recycling processes, forming a scalable EV battery reuse and recycling ecosystem. A proprietary disassembly technique minimizes manual handling, heightening process safety and efficiency, while hydrometallurgical leaching methods ensure high-purity metal recovery. These technologies align with Stena’s commitment to a circular economy, reducing the environmental footprint of battery production by reintroducing recovered materials into manufacturing cycles.
Recent Projects
In 2023, Stena Recycling debuted its Halmstad battery recycling plant, a milestone in its mission to meet rising demand for sustainable EV infrastructure. The facility’s cutting-edge hydrometallurgical setup underscores its focus on low-environmental-impact recycling. In 2024, plans for the Ausenfjellet plant advanced, designed to handle Norway’s growing EV battery waste, emphasizing regional circular solutions.
A 2023 partnership with Nynas expanded beyond batteries, recycling transformer oils into circular fluids, demonstrating Stena’s cross-sector sustainability efforts. Most recently, in March 2025, Stena announced a collaboration with Nissan to reuse EV batteries in second-life applications, such as stationary storage, aligning with global trends toward valuing used batteries as a resource rather than waste.
Investors
Stena Recycling remains under the ownership of the Stena Metall Group and the Olsson family—Dan Sten Olsson holds 51%, with other family members collectively owning the remainder. In 2022, Quantum Capital Partners acquired the company’s German unit, now called Rekular GmbH, marking an investment in expanding Stena’s recycling footprint in Germany. This move reflects the group’s focus on compartmentalizing geographic growth while retaining core operations under private ownership. No additional equity investments have been publicly disclosed, maintaining its strategic alignment with family control and sector specialization.
Business Details
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Website: https://www.stenarecycling.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/340986
