Recycling firms InoBat and Gigamine are partnering to create a cradle-to-cradle lithium-ion battery recycling initiative in Europe.
The collaboration will initially focus on recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, and will later look at reprocessing waste materials from the EV battery manufacturing process.
The objective is to be able to handle EV batteries along the entire value chain, from recycling to sourcing and re-using battery materials.
Gigamine told BEST it would start construction on its first UK recycling plant this year— with the location expected to be announced this quarter.
In the next five years, the UK start-up aims to operate six plants across the UK, as well as a refinery converting black mass into materials for re-use in cell manufacturing.
The company will not confirm which recycling process it will use, telling BEST it is “in the process of assessing recycling technologies”.
Gigamine is in discussion with “several OEM’s” and will make an announcement regarding where it will source used EV batteries later this year.
The two firms are due to collaborate on InoBat’s third gigafactory in Western Europe— with the location due to be announced later this year.
InoBat has a battery research and development facility and pilot line under development in Slovakia.
