Battery metals trailblazer Neometals and its partner SMS Group, have cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the joint venture’s lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Germany.
The Australian ambassador to Germany, H.E. Philip Green, officially opened the facility, marking the transition from a research and development program to a fully-fledged commercial enterprise.
The duo, via their 50-50 Primobius joint venture, is looking to recover valuable materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from end-of-life batteries employing Neometals’ sustainable battery recycling technology.
After three years of research and development, including bench and pilot trials, feasibility studies and engineering investigations, the commercialisation of Neometals’ joint venture lithium-ion battery recycling plant will see as much as 10 tonnes per day of battery-grade metal sulphate chemicals safely recycled into new battery production.
Importantly, the Primobius commercial facility will allow the company to showcase operational capabilities with potential customers.
The Stage 1 shredding circuit is set to go through a ramp-up period before scaling up to nameplate capacity with feedstocks for the start of operations underpinned by a battery disposal contract with a German battery waste company.
Whilst waiting on receipt of Federal environmental emissions permit from German authorities to enable the plant to operate at its maximum battery input rate, Neometals reported the disposal service looks set to generate short-term revenue – along with proving the efficacy and operability of the shredding circuit at a 1:5 scale of the larger commercial plants that are currently being evaluated.
Additionally, the company says the completion of the Stage 2 refinery circuit test-work will now enable the completion of the engineering cost study component of the feasibility study – plus consideration of final investment decisions on the commercial-scale, 50 tonne per day plant.
The commercialisation of Primobius’ German-based lithium battery recycling technology has raised more than a few interested eyebrows, with the global race to electrify the world’s mobile fleet in full swing.
The company also recently rubber-stamped a deal with luxury vehicle juggernaut Mercedes-Benz to design and construct a 2500 tonne per annum battery recycling plant at its Kuppenheim Operations base in southern Germany.
Interestingly, Europe represents the fastest growing lithium-ion battery production market outside China, with Germany holding the title of the largest car manufacturer in Europe.
Across the Atlantic, Primobius inked an agreement to commercialise its recycling technology with Canadian steelmaker Stelco Holdings, and also to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a planned 50tpd operation at its Lake Erie Works Hydrometallurgical refinery in Ontario.
With the electric vehicle sector expected to swell at an annual compound growth rate of around 29 per cent in the next decade, according to Deloitte, the company predicts huge volumes of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries will require recycling within three-to-five years.
Neometals, through its Primobius joint venture, appears to be well positioned in a commercial setting with its sustainable recycling facility to successfully close the battery supply chain loop.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
