Li-Cycle Corp, the Ontario-based battery recycling company, and Glencore International, a subsidiary of the British-Swiss mining and battery raw material trading company Glencore Plc, confirmed plans for a recycling hub in Sardinia, Italy.
The project aims to process and recycle lithium-ion battery scrap and to refine new raw materials, mainly lithium carbonate, nickel and cobalt. The partners will form a 50/50 joint venture to expand the existing Glencore Portovesme facility.
The new recycling plant contains two phases. Phase 1, to be realised in 2024, will process up to 11,000 tonnes of black mass supplied from Li-Cycle’s European Spoke recycling network and Glencore’s existing network. Phase 2 should begin commissioning in late 2026 or early 2027, designed for 50-70,000 tonnes of recycled batteries.
Tim Johnston, Li-Cycle’s executive chair and co-founder, said: “Phase 1 of the Portovesme Hub is expected to come online at unprecedented speed and to expedite the pathway to create the largest source of sustainable recycled battery-grade products on the continent to support a circular lithium-ion battery supply chain.”
Kunal Sinha, Global Head of Recycling for Glencore, said: “The project, combined with our existing footprint in the primary supply, as well as recycling of battery metals, is a core tenet of our ambition to become the circularity partner of choice with Li-Cycle for the European battery and EV industry.”
The pre-processing facilities of Li-Cycle (Spoke) recycle both scrap from lithium-ion battery production and end-of-life EV batteries to generate black mass for post-processing in the hubs. The first European Spoke unit was established in Magdeburg in Germany to complete the five North American units and a planned Vietnam facility.
The Portovesme hub will add to Glencore’s logistics network and will be part of the first European closed-loop battery material recycling system.
Photo: Tim Johnston, Li-Cycle’s executive chair, said the Portovesme Hub is expected to come online at unprecedented speed
