Battery recycler American Manganese has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a commercial recycling plant alongside Italvolt’s planned lithium-ion gigafactory in Scarmagno, Italy.
The firms will work collaboratively to recycle waste lithium-ion battery cathode material using the US company’s patented RecycLiCo™ process.
The recycling process recovers cathode metals, such as: lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminium.
The MOU is a strategic response to the European Commission’s proposed Batteries Regulation, which aims to ensure batteries placed on the EU market are sustainable and safe throughout their life cycle.
Lars Carlstrom, founder and CEO of Italvolt, said the company had already initiated the engineering process in order to integrate the recycling plant within the Gigafactory.
Italvolt founder Carlstrom also founded, and is a shareholder, of UK gigafactory hopeful Britishvolt.
Italvolt’s planned 300,000m2 gigafactory will be the first in Italy; it’s expected to have an initial output of 45GWh, with plans to increase capacity to 70GWh.
The plant will cost around €4 billion ($4.7 billion). The first phase of the project will be completed by spring 2024.
The factory will be built in the heart of Europe’s Motor Valley, Scarmagno in Italy.
