Neometals battery recycling JV, Primobius, has executed a cooperation agreement (“Cooperation”) with Mercedes-Benz recycling subsidiary, LICULAR GmbH
Primobius executes cooperation agreement with Mercedes-Benz. (Credit: Diego Delso/Wikimedia Commons)
announce that Primobius GmbH (“Primobius”), the incorporated joint venture (“JV”) company owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH (“SMS”), has executed a conditional, binding agreement (“Co-operation Agreement”) with LICULAR GmbH (“LICULAR”). LICULAR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG (“Mercedes-Benz”) founded specifically for the purpose of running a specialist consortia-based research programme with Mercedes-Benz to develop a holistic and sustainable recycling approach for lithium-ion batteries (“LIB’s”). The formal Cooperation follows an earlier press release by Mercedes-Benz of March regarding its global strategy for recycling automotive battery systems and Primobius’ role to support those objectives (for further details see Neometals announcement titled “Mercedes-Benz Press Release Regarding Battery Recycling with Primobius” dated 11th March 2022). The Cooperation will commence and become legally binding upon the receipt of an agreed form purchase order (“Agreed PO”) from LICULAR to Primobius for the supply and installation of the equipment for the construction, commissioning and operation of a LICULAR Recycling Plant for battery recycling and waste disposal, expected to be located at Mercedes-Benz’s Kuppenheim Operations in Southern Germany.
The Recycling Plant has a nominal design capacity of 10 tonnes per day (2,500 tonnes per annum) and will be built in two stages. Primobius will provide a royalty-free technology licence for the Recycling Plant’s operation, know-how and plant support to LICULAR.
The Mercedes-Benz (through LICULAR) technology partnership is a strong validation of the Primobius technology, its flexible business models and demonstrates the Company’s willingness to tailor commercial agreements to suit the recycling needs of EV car makers, LiB cell-makers and environmental service providers.
With SMS support, Primobius is advancing the engineering and design packages for LICULAR to enable the award of a purchase order for equipment supply and installation of the Recycling Plant as a next step.
Other key terms of the Cooperation include:
- Subject to delivery of the Agreed PO, the parties will co-operate and collaborate regarding the operation of the Recycling Plant, with the parties subject to the following roles and responsibilities:
o Primobius will support LICULAR on the commissioning of the Recycling Plant, obtaining permits, approvals and government funding for the Recycling Plant, train LICULAR’s employees and provide on-site engineering support on a cost-free basis (subject to a cap);
o LICULAR will purchase from Primobius the necessary equipment for installation of the Recycling Plant; and
o The parties will share information to optimise performance and jointly evaluate the possibility of commercialising the recycling technology and circular economy approach together during the phase of Recycling Plant operations.
- Separate agreements will be entered into for the engineering of the Recycling Plant, equipment purchase and installation of the Recycling Plant (terms to be agreed and concluded in the Agreed PO).
- The parties acknowledge that any discussions about an extended partnership towards a potential industrialisation/scale up possibilities is planned to be jointly evaluated at a later stage (i.e. during the Recycling Plant phase).
- The Co-operation Agreement has a term until 31 December 2026, which may be extend by mutual agreement, and contains customary provisions for termination with cause.
Chris Reed says:
“We are delighted to formalise our long-term cooperation agreement with Mercedes-Benz. The R&D collaboration is as important to us as successfully supplying the equipment. We are excited to work together to develop a more holistic recycling solution covering logistics, handling, compliance and sustainability. We are grateful for the opportunity and accept the challenge to futureproof our processing technology.”
Source: Company Press Release