Johnson Matthey has partnered with European Metal Recycling to bring to market efficient Li-ion battery recycling.
The partnership will see Johnson Matthey and European Metal Recycling work together to develop a closed-loop recycling process for lithium-ion batteries, which can recover and refine substantial volumes of materials.
European Metal Recycling is a world leader in metal recycling, with a global recycling project for EVs called RECOVAS, which is creating a standardised way to recycle and repurpose spent electric vehicle batteries.
European Metal Recycling has backing from Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley and BMW, as well as two re-use partners for their RECOVAS project.
Johnson Matthey, meanwhile, is working on end-use technologies that can recover high yields of materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.
The challenge with lithium-ion battery recycling is safety and scale. Safety because the batteries are explosive and combustive, and scale in terms of storing spent batteries, dismantling them, and recycling them.
Last year, Johnson Matthey pulled the plug on battery development to focus on hydrogen and decarbonisation technologies. Their latest investment in battery recycling is a clear commitment towards decarbonisation.
“We are excited to partner with EMR in delivering an efficient battery refining solution to the UK market. Embedding circularity into this growing industry is essential if it is to become a truly sustainable solution.”
Jane Toogood, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey’s Efficient Natural Resources.
Of course, other companies are also investing in battery recycling.
In an interview with Top Charger, Robin Brundle, Chairman of Technology Minerals, told us that the UK is in dire need of industrial-scale battery recycling technologies to deal with EV battery waste. Technology Minerals Plc is making significant progress in its recycling infrastructure.
Another company to look out for is Veolia, which announced its first UK EV battery recycling facility earlier this month.
Source: Johnson Matthey
