Umicore is a pioneer in the recycling of rechargeable batteries and its battery recycling plant in Hoboken, Belgium, has an annual capacity of 7.000 tons of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and battery production scrap, the equivalent of 35,000 electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The plant has started operations already in 2011 to treat portable electronics batteries and the first generations of EV batteries. Ever since, its processes and underlying recycling technologies have continuously improved and today reflect the combined know-how gains that Umicore has made during more than one decade of Li-ion battery recycling.

In the course of 2022, Umicore will introduce the latest generation of its proprietary recycling technology. After intensive research and piloting activities, this process is a significant step-up in recycling performance with an optimized operating window for EV batteries, demonstrating:

Significantly improved metallurgical process with increased extraction efficiency of cobalt, nickel and copper to now reach over 95% yield for a wide variety of battery chemistries.

First-of-its-kind technology to recover most of the lithium, solving a key constraint of today’s existing recycling flowsheets.

Automated material flow minimizing manual handling to further increase process robustness and efficiency.
The recovered metals will be delivered in battery-grade quality at the end of the Umicore recycling process allowing them to be re-circulated into the production of new Li-ion batteries.

This newest generation technology will be available for the market in 2022, and ensures minimal waste and impact on the environment, which will be vital for the surge in EV car adoption.

ACC will benefit from this technology through the announced partnership, underlining the importance of a European supply chain for the success of car electrification in the region.