AE Elemental opens battery recycling facility

AE Elemental opened its first commercial-scale EV battery recycling facility in Zawiercie, Poland, on 19 September.

AE Elemental is a joint venture of US-based Ascend Elements and Polish recycling processor Elemental Strategic Metals.

The facility will disassemble, discharge, and shred EV batteries and produce black mass that can be used to produce cathode active material and cathode precursor. It will be capable of processing 12,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr, approximately 28,000 batteries/yr, of used lithium-ion batteries.

Commercial-scale lithium extraction capabilities will be added to the facility in fall 2024 and be operational by 2026. The company hopes that this will allow them to help European companies comply with an EU regulation requiring new batteries to contain some minimum amount of recycled content by 2030.

AE Elemental is planning to build a 25,000t/yr, or 58,000 batteries/yr, recycling facility in central Germany.

By Cole Sullivan