Neometals’ joint venture partner Primobius has signed a binding co-operation agreement with a subsidiary of luxury vehicle manufacturer Mercedes-Benz to help develop lithium-ion battery recycling solutions.
The deal with the German carmaker's subsidiary LICULAR is part of negotiations to design and construct a 10 tonne per day integrated battery recycling centre in southern Germany.
The factory will be constructed in two phases and could start operating as early as next year.
Neometals, previously said the partnership agreement would extend until late 2026, with both parties able to extend the length of the deal by mutual consent.
Under the agreement, Primobius will help LICULAR with commissioning of the recycling plant, picking up approvals and government financing, training LICULAR’s workforce and delivering on-site engineering services to the company.
Neometals and German plant manufacturer SMS Group jointly launched Primobius about two years ago aiming to create and commercialise an environmentally friendly battery recycling process to treat used lithium-ion batteries.
The duo’s partnership caught the attention of LICULAR, that chose Primobius as its desired technology partner for the design and construction of the planned plant in Kuppenheim.
According to McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s biggest management consulting firms, due to Europe’s policies and incentives, at least a third of all light-vehicle sales could be EVs by 2030.
As demand for greener energy solutions rise, the amount of spent battery waste will inevitably follow suit – leaving an intriguing and potentially lucrative market to process the material.
In Australia, only 2 per cent of the country’s annual 3300-tonne of depleted lithium-ion battery waste is recycled and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation says the figure is growing by about 20 per cent a year.
Encouragingly, however, research shows more than 95 per cent of battery components can be reused, leaving the door open for companies such as Neometals to solve a global issue.
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