Polestar 2 and 3 replacement batteries to use 50% recycled cobalt

The Swedish EV brand is partnering with Volvo Cars battery centres to refurbish high-voltage packs, with customers receiving replacement units that match the original battery's state of health.

Polestar has announced that replacement batteries fitted to Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 vehicles must now include a minimum of 50 per cent recycled cobalt, as defined by ISO 14021.

Rather than installing new batteries when a replacement is needed, Polestar is working through Volvo Cars battery centres to refurbish existing high-voltage packs. Customers get a unit with an equivalent state of health, meaning no compromise on performance.

Cobalt is a key ingredient in the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery chemistry Polestar uses across its range. Most of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining has been linked to health risks, environmental contamination, and concerns over illegal working conditions. It's also expensive.

Reducing dependence on virgin cobalt addresses both the ethical and cost side of the equation.

Polestar head of sustainability Fredrika Klarén described the shift as part of a broader move toward a system "where resources stay in use." The company has also been building recycling partnerships across its markets to meet producer responsibility requirements and extend battery lifecycles.

This isn't a standalone move. Polestar 2 was the first car to use blockchain-traced cobalt back in its early production years, and the brand has published life cycle assessments for every model since 2020. It says relative CO2 emissions per vehicle have dropped 25 per cent since then.

The brand's longer-term targets include halving per-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching climate neutrality across its full value chain by 2040.

Australian relevance: Polestar has not confirmed any specific local pricing or programme details for Australian customers requiring a battery replacement. Buyers should contact their local Polestar service centre for current information.

For buyers already in a Polestar, the practical upside is straightforward: if your battery needs replacing, you're more likely to receive a refurbished unit rather than a new one, with the same performance and a lower environmental footprint.