AMG Lithium is building a lithium hydroxide production plant in Bitterfeld, Germany, for which Fortum will provide recycled lithium salts from its newly operative Finnish recycling plant.
Fortum Battery Recycling started commercial operations at its hydrometallurgical battery material recycling facility in Harjavalta, Finland, earlier this month.
Fortum’s recycling process recovers critical metals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery production waste and produces secondary metals for new lithium-ion batteries on an industrial scale.
The remains of a battery pack after it is shredded and processed is referred to as black mass. Depending on the type of battery being treated, it may contain volumes of nickel, cobalt and lithium which can be recovered by processors.
The news comes as Western economies’ demand for battery raw materials increases to meet e-mobility targets. Meanwhile, concerns are mounting about the sustainability of the critical minerals needed and the over-dependence on dominant countries in the battery supply chain, such as China.
Earlier this year, European Union countries gave final approval to a landmark law to end sales of new carbon dioxide-emitting cars by 2035.
A number of carmakers are now working to develop fully electric fleets to meet these targets and are scrambling to secure critical materials such as lithium that are used to power hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). Besides Tesla, these carmakers include Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Ford.
Earlier this week, Ford struck a number of deals with major and junior lithium miners to secure access to the ultralight metal in the face of competition with other buyers.
In response to the greater market interest in recycled battery raw materials, Fastmarkets launched weekly price assessments for black mass payable indicators in the South Korea market earlier this month.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, cobalt, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end), and black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, nickel, cif South Korea, % payable LME nickel cash official price were both at 60-68% on Wednesday May 24, down 2.29% from its inaugural assessment of 63-68% on May 17.
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