Livium sign agreement to recycle electric mining train batteries

Livium, formerly known as Lithium Australia, has signed an exclusive agreement with Wabtec subsidiary Industrea to recycle batteries used in their electric mining locomotives.

The agreement will see Livium subsidiary Envirostream Australia recycle lithium and nickel based batteries used in Wabtec’s FLXdrive Battery Locomotives that will operate in Western Australia’s iron ore-rich Pilbara region.

The Roy Hill iron ore mine was the first operation in the world to run the FLXdrive locomotive, a100% battery-powered, heavy-haul locomotive for mainline service,

The initial three year contract will commence 1 January, 2025, and Livium will receive a processing fee for sorting and processing Wabtec-made batteries and a fee for supplementary services – including dismantling and discharging the batteries.

“This represents a significant milestone for Livium as it secures exclusive access to batteries from the locomotive industry, which diversifies our batter supply,” Livium CEO Simon Linge said.

“We look forward to building on this momentum to wind additional recycling contracts in the near to medium term.”

Last month, Livium was awarded an $850,000 grant from the Western Australia government to support the development of Envirostream’s battery recycling operations in the state.

Work volumes are expected to increase as more FLXdrive battery locomotives are added to the fleet.

“As Wabtec introduces new products, such as the FLXdrive battery locomotive, we continually evaluate our component life cycles and leverage additional recycling opportunities to reduce landfill use and conserve resources globally,” Wabtec Regional Senior VP, ANZ & SEA, Peter Thomas, said.

“Livium’s expertise and track record supports our effort to drive responsible operations of our products and enables us to properly handle the afterlife of batteries.”