Fastmarkets will launch its new suite of US black mass payable indicators on Wednesday August 7, following a one-month consultation period.

Rapidly expanding capacity for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries in the United States and Canada has raised worries over the supply of raw materials to feed processors in the region, sources have told Fastmarkets

Payables for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) black mass in the CIF Asia markets showed mixed trends in June

Fastmarkets proposes to launch weekly price assessments for black mass payable indicators, ex-works US, to provide insight to the United States’ burgeoning battery recycling sector.

Chinese authorities are in the process of considering relaxing restrictions on the import of some specifications of black mass to the country, sources said

Market sentiment for black mass sales to Asia was hit by weakening battery metal prices in the week to Friday June 14, but solid demand from the expanding South Korean market was lending support to the payables, sources told Fastmarkets.

Germany-based copper recycling and non-ferrous metal provider Aurubis has started commissioning their secondary smelter in Augusta, Georgia, and could eventually introduce black mass recycling to the facility

Payables for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) black mass in the CIF Asia markets were firm in May despite volatility in battery raw material prices

Interest in recycling battery raw materials in the US has increased, particularly from the electronics and lithium-ion battery sectors, and due in part to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to New York-based Glencore trader Mary Schilling.

Major recycling firm EMR is planning to establish a lithium-ion battery shredding and recycled battery raw materials extraction plant in Birmingham, the UK, the company said this week