AE Elemental, a joint venture of U.S.-based Ascend Elements (Westborough, Mass.) and Poland-based Elemental Strategic Metals, announced the grand opening of its first commercial-scale EV battery recycling facility. Located in Zawiercie, Poland, the newly constructed facility can process 12,000 metric tons of used Li-ion batteries each year – or approximately 28,000 EV battery packs annually – making it one of the largest battery recycling facilities in Europe.
As demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, lithium-ion battery recycling is becoming an increasingly important part of the EV battery materials supply chain. In the European Union (EU), new batteries will be required to contain a minimum amount of recycled content by 2030. Lithium-ion battery recycling also keeps hazardous battery materials out of landfills while minimizing the environmental impacts associated with nickel, cobalt and lithium mining.
“We have come significantly closer to becoming a global leader in the market of recycling materials necessary to produce EV batteries,” said Michał Zygmunt, CEO of Elemental Strategic Metals. “As part of our contribution to the joint venture with a reputable American partner, we make available a state-of-the-art industrial downstream processing facility in Zawiercie and one of the most developed networks of waste collection points in Europe with broad knowledge and experience in the field of recycling and waste logistics.”
The AE Elemental facility will disassemble, discharge and shred EV batteries to produce black mass, which can be used to make new engineered EV battery materials, including cathode active material (CAM) and cathode precursor (pCAM). Commercial-scale lithium extraction capabilities will be added to the new facility in Fall 2024 to be operational by 2026.
“This is a significant milestone for Ascend Elements, representing our first commercial-scale battery recycling facility in Europe. We’re pleased to be working closely with Elemental Strategic Metals in this beautiful facility,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements. “Expanding into Europe will allow us to better service our customers locally and help the industry comply with new EU rules requiring recycled material in new batteries.”
Beyond Poland, the joint venture is planning to build Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Germany. The planned AE Elemental facility in Germany will have the capacity to recycle up to 25,000 metric tons of batteries per year, or approximately 58,000 EVs annually.