Battery Recycling

Chinese battery material company CNGR has established a recycling joint venture with German specialist “revomet”, a subsidiary of CRONIMET Group.

Glencore Canada Corporation has completed the acquisition of a significant portion of Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.’s assets. The transaction was carried out as part of a credit bid and the assumption of certain liabilities. The purchase agreement was signed in May 2025. According to the company, the purchase includes so-called “spoke” facilities in Arizona, Alabama, New York, Ontario, and Germany. At these locations, used batteries are processed by being dismantled and converted into black mass. The acquisition also includes the hub project in Rochester, New York, which is still under construction. There, the black mass from the various spoke facilities will undergo chemical processing to recover the metals it contains at a high level of purity. In addition to the physical facilities, Glencore acquired Li-Cycle’s intellectual property. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the acquisition, and a US federal court recognized it under Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings. This concludes the court-supervised sale and investor process for Li-Cycle. Source:https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/early-warning-press-release-in-respect-of-li-cycle-holdings-corp–843793040.html

US battery recycler Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) has begun operating its lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Chester, South Carolina. The plant produces 5,000 tons of “advanced black mass” from production waste each year. According to the company, its proprietary recycling processes result in a recovery rate of over 97 percent. These processed materials serve as raw materials for new battery cells with NCM and LFP cathode chemistry. PNE plans to expand annual capacity to 15,000 tons by 2026. In the long term, PNE aims to increase capacity up to 50,000 tons depending on market developments. PNE was founded at Princeton University and uses a direct recycling concept based on a patented low-temperature process. The company claims this technology significantly reduces costs and environmental impact compared to conventional methods. PNE receives funding from government grants and investments from companies such as Honda, Samsung, Shell Ventures, and the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition to its location in Chester, PNE operates a pilot plant in Texas and a test center in New Jersey. Source:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-us-battery-circular-economy-advances-with-pnes-south-carolina-flagship-recycling-facility-302522842.html

Syensqo from Belgium and “cylib” from Germany have succeeded in extracting lithium hydroxide from the black mass of used electric vehicle batteries on a pilot scale.

The Munich-based battery recycler “tozero” has signed a lease for an existing industrial building in the Gendorf Chemical Park in Burgkirchen, Upper Bavaria. Founded in 2022, the startup plans to open a demonstration plant for recycling lithium-ion batteries there before the end of the year. This plant is intended to serve as the technological basis for commercial operations beginning in 2026. According to the company, its proprietary chemical process enables a higher recovery rate of critical raw materials, such as lithium and graphite, than conventional processes allow. While conventional processes usually only extract metals such as copper or aluminum, tozero claims to recover over 80 percent of the lithium. Additionally, graphite is fully recycled and returned to the supply chain. Processing focuses on so-called “black mass,” the crushed interior of spent batteries. The mechanical breakdown into “black mass” is outsourced to external service providers. With the construction of the demonstration plant in Gendorf, tozero is pursuing a strategy of gradually scaling up its process. According to the company, the location’s existing infrastructure should enable rapid implementation without the need for major construction. Initial investments are in the low single-digit millions and are co-financed by EU funds from the EIC Accelerator program. Source:https://www.tozero.solutions/news/demonstration-plant-in-gendorf

General Motors and Redwood Materials plan to jointly develop energy storage solutions using GM batteries produced in the USA as well as spent batteries from electric vehicles.

LG Energy Solution and Toyota Tsusho have announced the establishment of the Green Metals Battery Innovations joint venture for the recycling of batteries in the United States.

German recycling company “cylib” from Aachen and Australian-German company Pure Battery Technologies (PBT) intend to closer collaborate in the area of battery recycling.