German scrap company SMS has entered an agreement with InoBat Auto through its subsidiary Primobius to build a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Eastern Europe.
The first Primobius recycling facility is intended to process 20,000mt of waste batteries per year, fed by scrap supply from InoBat, a nickel-rich electric vehicle batteries manufacturer. In fact, the agreement is based on the fact that both companies expect the volume of EV batteries and subsequently, battery scrap, to grow exponentially in Europe.
InoBat is building a gigafactory capable of producing 50,000mt of new batteries annually, to be commissioned in 2024. This will further increase the amount of battery scrap in the medium-term.
Primobius already has a demonstration plant under construction in Hilchenbach, Germany, where it intends to begin trials in Q2 2021. The company continues to look for similar offtake agreements so that it may secure the necessary tonnage to commence operations.