Li-Cycle and Glencore ramp up plans for recycling hub
Li-Cycle and Glencore has announced plans for a two-phase approach to the Portovesme Hub project in Sardinia, Italy to expedite the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate.
Phase 1 is designed to process up to 11,000 tonnes of black mass annually and is expected to start operations in the first half of 2024, accelerating the recovery of lithium carbonate and strengthening Li-Cycle’s first-mover advantage in Europe.
The capital efficient Phase 1 project is expected to produce up to 1,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate, as well as up to 3,000 tonnes of contained nickel and up to 500 tonnes of contained cobalt per year.
The Company expects the Phase 2 facility to have 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of black mass processing capacity, and to produce up to 16,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate, as well as up to 18,000 tonnes of contained nickel and 2,250 tonnes of contained cobalt per year. Phase 2 is expected to be the final long-term plan and capacity for the facility.
The Portovesme Hub is being designed to be able to process all forms of lithium-ion based black mass, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials.
“The development of the Hub with Li-Cycle at Glencore’s Portovesme site is progressing well, underpinned by strong endorsement from multiple internal and external stakeholders. The project, combined with our existing footprint in the primary supply, as well as recycling of battery metals, is a core tenet of our ambition to become the circularity partner of choice with Li-Cycle for the European battery and EV industry. Specifically, this multi-phase approach to the development of the Hub allows us to start to close the loop for battery materials in Europe as early as the first half of 2024, while we work towards designing and building Phase 2," said Kunal Sinha, Global Head of Recycling for Glencore, in a press release.
