Payables in concluded deals for nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) black mass in the CIF South Korea market held largely firm in January 2024 despite weaker battery raw materials prices and lower bids from some buyers, according to market sources

Payables for black mass (shredded and sorted lithium-ion batteries) in the European domestic market continued to drop in the week to January 15 amid weak demand and abundant supply

Major carmaker Mercedes-Benz has deepened its plans to expand operations in Europe’s lithium-ion battery recycling space with the order of a new hydrometallurgical plant to recover battery metals from black mass

Hamburg-based copper producer Aurubis is considering the US and Europe among options for a future black mass recycling plant, chief executive officer Roland Harings told Fastmarkets on Monday January 8

Lithium-ion battery recyclers must resist short-term thinking and hold their nerve to navigate the challenges facing their sector, Elliott Ethridge, vice president of global sales at major recycling firm Ecobat, told Fastmarkets in an interview

Fastmarkets has launched daily inferred prices for black mass in South Korea and Europe, starting on Friday December 8.

Black mass payables dropped during the week to Wednesday November 29 with insufficient demand for the shredded, sorted lithium-ion battery packs in key buying markets restricting trade.

Black mass payables have weakened in the key South Korean import market over the past week, with battery recyclers in the country cutting back on production amid a continued downtrend in metal prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday November 24

Battery recyclers Huayou Recycling, of China, and Tozero, of Germany, have announced an agreement in which they will partner on the supply and processing of battery scrap in Europe, Fastmarkets has learned.

Plans for a major battery metals recycling hub run by Glencore and Li-Cycle in Italy are likely to go ahead despite recent pushback from local authorities, sources told Fastmarkets this week