Umicore inks battery recycling deal with ACC
Umicore has signed an agreement with Automotive Cells Company (ACC) regarding battery recycling services for ACC's pilot plant in Nersac, France.
Umicore and its battery recycling plant in Hoboken, Belgium, has an annual capacity of 7.000 tons of lithium-ion batteries and battery production scrap, the equivalent of 35,000 electric vehicle batteries. The plant has been operating since 2011, treating portable electronics batteries and the first generations of EV batteries.
In 2022, Umicore says it will introduce the latest generation of its recycling technology. After intensive research and piloting activities, the process is described as a significant step-up in recycling performance. The recovered metals will be delivered in battery-grade quality at the end of the Umicore recycling process allowing them to be re-circulated into the production of new li-ion batteries.
This newest generation technology will be available for the market in 2022, and ensures minimal waste and impact on the environment, which will be vital for the surge in EV car adoption. ACC (a Saft-Total and Stellantis joint venture), has entered into a partnership with Umicore to benefit from this technology.
“By recovering key critical elements for the Li-ion battery supply chain, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper, in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way, Umicore is leading the way towards a battery circular economy, providing solutions to the growing demand for sustainably sourced materials while lowering their CO2 impact. The agreement with ACC pilot plant in Nersac is reinforcing the standard when it comes to sustainability and demonstrates our strong commitment to providing our customers with solutions for production waste and end-of-life materials,” says Denis Goffaux, Executive Vice President of Umicore, in the press release.
“Our pilot line in Nersac aims to test all our product and process solutions before mass production in our future Gigafactories. The agreement between ACC for Nersac and Umicore fits perfectly into this framework, allowing us to improve our expertise, locally, regarding the recycling of our production waste. This is an important step in our larger policy of recycling our future batteries,” adds Gilles Tardivo, Nersac Pilot Plant Vice-President of ACC.
