Lithium Australia’s (ASX:LIT) subsidiary Envirostream partners with LG Energy Solution for LIB recycling

Highlights

• Envirostream has boosted its battery recycling volumes under a new agreement with LG Energy Solution (LGES).
• The agreement will allow Envirostream to process 250t of LGES’ energy storage system lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).
• The additional batteries will be delivered to Envirostream for processing during FY23.

Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithium Australia Limited (ASX:LIT), has entered an agreement with LG Energy Solution in a bid to augment the recycling volume of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

Under the agreement, Envirostream will receive at least 250 tonnes of LIBs (equating to nearly 5,000 energy storage systems) for processing from LGES. This new supply of spent batteries represents 23% of the company’s total collections during FY22. These volumes will be delivered to Envirostream during FY23.  

Agreement to recycle battery components

LGES is committed to responsible recycling of LIBs and has chosen Envirostream as its recycling partner in Australia.

Under the terms of the agreement, LGES will deliver residential and grid-scale energy storage system (ESS) LIBs to Envirostream for processing at its Melbourne facility.

At this facility, the company recycles more than 90% of battery components and extracts useful metals, including copper, aluminium, steel, and mixed metal dust (MMD).

The MMD is an amalgamation of critical battery metals and is recycled into new anode and cathode powders for LIBs.

Battery shredding equipment at Envirostream’s facility (Image source: LIT update, 7 September 2022)

The agreement has an initial term ending on 31 August 2023. The agreement will then be rolled for a six-month basis until terminated by the provision of 60 days’ written notice by either party.

The delivery and processing of batteries will commence with an immediate effect. For any revenue generated from the sale of reclaimed commodities, the agreement entitles Envirostream to claim its share. 

Agreement ensures a significant boost in LIB recycling volumes

For FY22, the total battery collection volume at Envirostream was approximately 1,086 tonnes. As the company has been experiencing an increased volume of batteries for processing, the month of July saw a collection of nearly 100 tonnes of spent batteries. During May and June 2022, the collected volumes were 90 tonnes and 94 tonnes, respectively.  

This is not the first time that Envirostream will be working with LG Energy. Their relationship dates back to 2018, and to date, Envirostream has processed more than 85 tonnes of LIBs for LG Energy under previously executed agreements.  

Envirostream already has one agreement in place with Battery World to facilitate its premises for the collection of LIBs throughout Australia. The deals with Battery World and LG Energy are expected to boost the processing volume significantly in FY23 and beyond.

LIT shares were trading at AU$0.061 midday on 8 September 2022.