Primobius was founded to commercialise Neometals’sustainable LIB recycling technology
Primobius has officially opened commercial lithium-ion battery. (Credit: StockSnap from Pixabay)
Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) (“Neometals” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce
that Primobius GmbH (“Primobius”), the incorporated joint venture (“JV”) company owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH (“SMS”), has officially opened its 10tpd commercial lithium-ion battery (“LIB”) recycling facility (“10tpd Shredding Plant”) in Hilchenbach Germany.
Primobius was founded to commercialise Neometals’sustainable LIB recycling technology. Demonstration plant trials on the two stage recycling process have been successfully concluded. The Stage 1 ‘Shredding Circuit’ was modified in Q4 2021 to accelerate commercial operations and secure market share. Completion of Stage 2 ‘Refinery Circuit’ test-work trials now enable the completion of the engineering cost study component of the feasibility study and consideration of financial investment decisions (“FID”) for larger 50tpd recycling plants.
The 10tpd Shredding Plant will go through a ramp up period before scaling up to nameplate capacity. Initial feedstocks for the commencement of operations are underpinned by a battery disposal contract with a German battery waste company. The remaining feedstock capacity is expected to be secured from participants in the German electric vehicle industry.
The official opening by Australian Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Philip Green, marks the transition from a research and development program that commenced last decade into operations and revenue. Importantly, the Primobius 10tpd commercial
disposal service will allow Primobius to showcase operational capabilitieswith customers. Extraordinary market tailwinds support sustainable hydrometallurgical recycling to close the battery supply chain loop. Primobius is now well positioned in a commercial setting with an industrial scale solution ahead of potentially huge volumes of end-of-life LIBs requiring recycling from mid-decade.
Primobius is awaiting the imminent receipt of a federal emission operating permit (BImSchG) from German authorities to enable 10tpd Shredding Plant operations at a maximum battery input rate of 10 tonnes per day. The disposal service will generate nearterm revenue as well as prove the efficacy and operability of the Shredding Circuit at a 1:5 scale of the larger commercial plants which are presently being evaluated.
Source: Company Press Release