22
October 2024
Neometals
Ltd
("Neometals" or "the
Company")
Mercedes Benz Plant
Opening
Sustainable process technology
developer, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT, AIM: NMT & OTCQX: NMTAY)
("Neometals" or
"the Company"), is pleased
to announce the official inauguration by Mercedes-Benz ("Mercedes")
of its integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery
("LiB") recycling plant in Kuppenheim, Germany, which uses the
technology of Neometals' 50:50 incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH)
("Primobius"). The full
text of the Primobius press release is set out below.
Primobius is an incorporated battery
recycling joint venture ("JV") company, owned 50:50 by Neometals
and SMS group GmbH ("SMS").
Primobius is commercialising a patented LiB recycling process via a
plant supply and technology licensing business model.
Primobius has designed, fabricated
and is installing a 2,500 tpa integrated plant under purchase
orders received from Mercedes after it was selected as technology
partner in March 2022. Primobius has also entered into a five
(5)-year research collaboration aimed at jointly developing a
tailored, industrial-scale LiB recycling solution for
Mercedes.[1]
Neometals Managing Director, Chris Reed,
said:
"We are incredibly proud of Primobius and its team's
achievement on its journey to deliver lithium-ion battery recycling
plants to our valued customers and licensees around the world. The
inauguration of Mercedes-Benz's plant in Kuppenheim is a momentous
day and a vital milestone in affirming our credibility, quality and
commitment to serving our customers' needs now and into the
future."
Primobius Press Release: 21 October 2024
Recycling plant opened - Mercedes-Benz closes its own battery
loop with Primobius technology
· First
battery recycling plant in Europe based on an integrated
mechanical-hydrometallurgical process opened by Mercedes-Benz in
Kuppenheim, southern Germany
· Primobius provides the technology to recover key materials
such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and more to enable the production
of new battery modules
Kuppenheim. On October 21,
Mercedes-Benz officially opened Europe's first battery recycling
plant based on an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process.
As the cooperation partner, Primobius is responsible for the
engineering, equipment supply, and installation of the two-stage
recycling plant. The integrated solution, which Primobius built for
Mercedes-Benz, is aimed at producing high-purity, low-carbon
battery materials for reuse in the supply chain.
Dr. Michel Siemon, CEO:
"Primobius has put much effort
into this project and we are proud to support Mercedes-Benz in
achieving its ambitious goals with our efficient, sustainable
recycling solution. Together we will generate high-purity,
low-carbon footprint battery materials for reuse in the battery
supply chain. I am very proud of the entire team and also the
excellent collaboration we established with
Mercedes-Benz."
Integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling
concept
With Primobius' technology at its
Kuppenheim site, Mercedes-Benz is the first automotive manufacturer
worldwide to close the battery material loop with its own recycling
plant. The process covers all steps, from shredding the battery
modules to drying and processing the battery's active
materials.
While the mechanical process sorts
the plastics, copper, aluminum, and iron by type in a complex,
multi-stage process, the downstream hydrometallurgical process
focuses on the so-called black mass, which is the main product from
the mechanical process. Black mass contains the valuable materials
that make up the electrodes in battery cells. The valuable metals
comprising lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese are extracted
individually in a multi-stage chemical process. The process is
designed to produce recycled materials of battery-grade quality
which can be used to produce new battery cells.
"The reality is that electric vehicles have a
very large legacy CO2 footprint from the production
phase owing to the whole life carbon emissions associated with the
battery raw materials involved. The concept of electromobility can
only be sustainable once we succeed in recovering valuable battery
materials in an energy-efficient way. That is exactly what we do
with our solutions. We are proud to be amongst the first to realize
a resource-efficient recycling technology in the heart of
Europe," says Dr. Michel Siemon.
The Mercedes-Benz battery recycling
plant in Kuppenheim has an annual capacity of 2,500 tons. The
recovered materials will be used to produce more than 50,000
battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models. The
shredder in Kuppenheim has been in operation since spring 2024,
with final commissioning in progress. Final assembly and
commissioning of the hydrometallurgical processes will continue
gradually after the opening event.
Authorised for release by the Board
of Neometals Ltd.
- ENDS
-
For more information, please
contact:
|
Neometals Ltd
|
|
|
Chris Reed, Managing Director &
Chief Executive Officer
|
+61 8 9322 1182
|
|
Chris Kelsall, CFO & Company
Secretary
|
+61 8 9322 1182
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd - NOMAD &
Broker
|
|
|
Neil McDonald
|
+44 (0)131 220 9771
|
|
Peter Lynch
|
+44 (0)131 220 9772
|
|
Adam Rae
|
+44 (0)131 220 9778
|
|
|
|
About Neometals
Neometals facilitates sustainable
critical material supply chains and reduces the environmental
burden of traditional mining in the global transition to a circular
economy.
The Company is commercialising a
portfolio of sustainable processing solutions that recycle and
recover critical materials from high-value waste
streams.
· Neometals' core focus is its patented, Lithium-ion Battery ("LiB")
Recycling technology (50% NMT), being commercialised
in a 50:50 incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) with 150-year-old
German plant builder, SMS group GmbH. Primobius is supplying
Mercedes-Benz a 2,500tpa recycling plant and operates its own LiB
Disposal Service in Germany. Primobius' first 21,000tpa commercial
plant will be offered to Stelco under an existing technology
licence for North America.
Neometals is developing two advanced
battery materials technologies for commercialisation under
low-risk, low-capex technology licensing business
models:
· Lithium Chemicals (70%
NMT) - Patented ELi™ electrolysis
process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce battery
quality lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at
lowest quartile operating costs. Pilot scale test work and
Engineering Cost Study update planned for completion in DecQ 2024;
and
· Vanadium
Recovery (100%
NMT) - Patent pending
hydrometallurgical process to produce high-purity vanadium
pentoxide from steelmaking by-product ("Slag") at lowest-quartile
operating cost and carbon footprint.
For further information, visit: www.neometals.com.au.
