Lithium Australia boosts battery recycling

Lithium ion battery materials company Lithium Australia has increased battery recycling at its Envirostream facilities (pictured) as agreements with overseas manufacturers lead to higher collection volumes.

The company told investors it collected 344 tonnes of batteries during the March quarter, including 177 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), an 18 percent increase in LIB collection volumes relative to the prior corresponding period (pcp).

The collection of large-format LIB’s used in electric vehicles and energy storage increased by 59 percent on pcp to reach 110 tonnes collected in Q3 FY24 – large-format LIBs made up 62 percent of total LIB collection volumes in the quarter.

Lithium Australia CEO and Managing Director Simon Linge said: “We are excited by the significant progress made across our recycling operations during the quarter, including strong LIB collection volumes.

“Notably, the signing of exclusive recycling agreements with leadings OEMs, LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Glovis, will help secure a strong future supply of large-format LIBs.

“Large-format LIBs are core to our strategy, and we aim to secure further recycling agreements with leading battery manufacturers moving forward.”

The rise in recycling saw increased sales of Mixed Metal Dust (MMD), with 170 tonnes of MMD sold YTD in FY24, up 181 percent relative to the pcp.

Rising sales came as market prices for MMD metals such as cobalt and nickel have stabilised since the start of 2024.

Envirostream has responded to rising volumes, installing a new shredder at its Campbellfield, Melbourne facility which helped increase recycling throughput by ~37%.

The company is also assessing a possible increase in operational shifts per day from one to two.

Lithium Australia is also progressing a JV development with MinRes to commercialise its LieNA metals processing technology.

Further reading:
Lithium Australia protects battery recycling processes
Lithium Australian begins LieNA process pilot plant

Picture: Lithium Australia/battery recycling at Envirostream