EV battery recycling plant from US-Polish JV

A new joint venture has been established in Poland to own and operate an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility.

The JV for the facility at Zawiercie is the result of a partnership between American battery specialist Ascend Elements and Elemental Strategic Metals, which already operates a large multi-metal extraction facility in Poland focused on recovering battery metals and platinum group metals.

The new facility will disassemble, discharge and shred EV batteries to produce black mass, used to make new battery materials, including cathode active material and cathode precursor.

It will have the capacity to recycle up to 12 000 tonnes of batteries per year, approximately 28 000 EV batteries.

German plans

Both JV partners have agreed to jointly invest in large-scale lithium extraction from black mass. Construction of lithium extraction capabilities processing up to 20 000 tonnes of black mass per year will begin in the Autumn and the site is due to be operational in 2026.

Additionally, the companies plan a new EV battery recycling facility in central Germany. This will have the capacity to recycle up to 25 000 tonnes of batteries per year, approximately 58 000 EV batteries.

‘Transformative step’ ‘Our partnership with Ascend Elements is more than just a strategic move into the battery recycling industry, it is a transformative step towards becoming a key player in the battery materials industry,’ says Pawel Jarski, ceo of Elemental Holding.

‘The combination of Ascend Elements’ cutting-edge technology with our recycling expertise, large collection network, recycling platform and global footprint puts AE Elemental in a pole position in this evolving market.’

Mike O’Kronley, ceo of Ascend Elements, says the company’s first commercial-scale battery recycling facility in Europe enabled by the JV is a significant milestone.

‘Expanding into Europe will allow us to better service our customers locally and help the industry comply with new EU rules requiring recycled material in new batteries. This is a perfect time to expand our operations.’