Envirostream agreement to supply battery material for Korean customer

Lithium Australia subsidiary Envirostream has signed a new three-year Mixed Metal Dust (MMD) off-take agreement to supply leading South Korean battery recycler SungEel HiTech.

SungEel HiTech will purchase a minimum of 60 percent of Envirostream’s annual MMD production from its battery recycling facility in Melbourne.

The facility utilises ANSTO/Lithium technology which recovers 95 per cent of the materials from spent batteries.

Lithium Australia CEO and Managing Director Simon Linge said: “The signing of this MMD off-take agreement represents a core component of our recycling growth strategy, given its synergistic value with the company’s rapidly growing large-format LIB (lithium ion battery) collection volumes and MMD production.

“This off-take agreement also highlights the strong market demand for MMD and supports the expected uplift in future production volumes.

“We are now ready to start the next step of our SungEel relationship with a Joint Development Agreement to be finalised through this year.”

The JDA includes an investment, focused on upgrading recycling equipment and expanding total processing capacity.

SungEel has purchased more than 300 tonnes of MMD from Envirostream since 2020 which reflects the market’s growing demand for recycled materials to be utilised in battery manufacturing.

SungEel recently opened the third hydro centre in South Korea which is the largest lithium ion battery recycling plant in the world and can input 20,000 tons of MMD in Phase 1.

Further reading:
Browse @AuManufacturing’s coverage of Envirostream here.

Picture: Lithium Australia/battery recycling at Envirostream