Australia's Neometals Enters Lithium-Ion Batteries Recycling Industry

To recycle lithium-ion batteries, Australian lithium company Neometals (ASX: NMT) has entered a binding deal with German metallurgical equipment supplier SMS Group GmbH to establish a joint venture. The joint venture, called Primobius GmbH, will use the company recycling technology to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other materials from waste electric vehicles and consumer electronics.

Neometals owns battery recycling technology through its wholly-owned subsidiary and has granted a limited license to conduct evaluation activities to the joint venture Primobius. Neometals and SMS will co-fund these activities, which include the construction and operation of the demonstration plant and an Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) Class 3 feasibility study. The evaluation activities are worth about €3.5million in total.

Neometals innovatively develops opportunities in minerals and advanced materials essential for a sustainable future. With a focus on the energy storage megatrend, the strategy revolves around de-risking and developing long life projects with strong partners and integrating down the value chain to increase margins and return value to shareholders.

Irrespective of the project, the company adopts a consistent approach to making the complex simple by developing an ecosystem of expertise to deliver cashflow. If certain technical and economic criteria are met, SMS will obtain a 50% stake in Australia's Neometals' wholly-owned subsidiary and the parties will jointly fund commercial activities worth €500,000 required for consideration of an investment decision for an initial commercial-scale recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries.

The Australis's company and SMS have commenced an AACE Class 4 engineering cost study of a 20,000-tonnes-per-annum recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries in Germany. The pair will then begin procurement and construction of the demonstration plant with commissioning targeted for early 2021.

• < Prev
• Next >