India’s Attero to expand lithium-ion recycling capacity

India's Attero Recycling plans to increase its lithium-ion (Li-ion) recycling capacity to 200,000 t/yr in the next 2½ years, and to 300,000 t/yr in the next five years.

The firm currently can recycle 15,000 t/yr of Li-ion batteries and about 144,000 t/yr of electronic waste (e-waste) at its plant in Roorkee city, Uttarakhand state, Attero's chief executive Nitin Gupta told Argus. The firm plans to further expand Li-ion battery and e-waste recycling capacity to 300,000 t/yr and 1mn t/yr in the next five years.

Attero is currently finalising the location for its 100,000 t/yr Li-ion recycling plant in Andhra Pradesh state, which is expected to begin commercial production within the next 14 months. The firm also plans to set up a 100,000 t/yr Li-ion recycling plant in Poland, which is expected to be commissioned in the next 12 months. There is also a plan to establish a 100,000t/yr Li-ion battery recycling plant in the US, once the Indian and Polish plants are commissioned.

Attero has 46 global patents on NASA-approved recycling technologies in India. It can extract metals and minerals from all types of end-of-life Li-ion batteries of various chemistries such as nickel-manganese-cobalt, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium-ion manganese oxide, lithium titanate and lithium iron phosphate. The firm's extraction efficiency of pure battery grade cobalt, lithium carbonate, graphite, nickel and manganese dioxide are around 98pc for pure battery grade material, as compared to the global average of 75pc, Gupta said.

Most firms are not recycling LFP batteries, as most technologies are focused on extraction of nickel and cobalt, according to Gupta. The firm has secured sourcing agreements that are sufficient for its next two years of consumption, Grupta added. Attero is also considering filing an initial public offering in the Indian market within the next 24-36 months.