Lithium Australia Limited said its wholly-owned battery recycling subsidiary, Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd, agreed a deal with Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) to process a minimum of 250 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). That equates to more than 5,000 energy storage systems.
It said under the agreement, which runs initially to 31 August 2023, LGES will deliver the LIBs to Envirostream’s facilities in Melbourne, Australia, for processing. Envirostream recycles more than 90% of a lithium-ion battery into its core components which include steel, copper, aluminium and critical battery metals which are amalgamated into mixed metal dust (MMD).
The recovered MMD allows the active metals to be repurposed into new lithium-ion batteries’ anode and cathode powders.
Envirostream and LGES started working together in 2018, with Envirostream recycling more than 85 tonnes of their batteries to date. The minimum 250 tonnes by volume of LIBs will be processed under the new agreement.
The company said it is seeking to obtain similar recycling agreements with other cell and battery manufacturers.
Envirostream’s battery processing facilities collect, sort and process critical battery metals from all types of spent batteries to power new batteries.
The company is in the Australian government-backed battery recycling scheme, which covers the collection, sorting and processing of batteries.
LG Energy Solution is one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers with a leading position in advanced batteries for grid-scale, home battery, and automotive applications.
