Elemental Group opens LIB recycling facility in Poland

Elemental Strategic Metals, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Elemental Holding SA, has opened a plant in Zawiercie, Poland, to recover strategic industrial and precious metals from lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) found in electric vehicles (EVs) and process automotive and industrial catalysts.

The investment value of the plant is $148.9 million and Elemental plans to develop more facilities in Poland and Europe.

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By 2035, Elemental says recycled material can cover 30 percent of the European Union’s demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt, and for this reason, the newly opened Zawiercie facility is strategically important for the industry and for raw material security in Poland and the EU.

“The plant in Zawiercie specializes in the recovery of strategic battery metals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, as well as precious metals from the platinum group: platinum, palladium, rhodium,” Elemental Strategic Metals CEO Michał Zygmunt says in a news release. “These metals are crucial for modern technologies and industry, and their recovery allows for the efficient use of natural resources and shortening the supply chain. Thanks to our investment, rare strategic elements, and precious metals will not leave the territory of the European Union and will be used to create further generations of electric vehicle batteries. Thus, we can assume that in this case, our business activities support the strategic security of this part of Europe.”

The plant was established as part of the project “Development and first industrial implementation of innovative technologies for recycling lithium-ion batteries and catalysts with the recovery of metals of strategic importance,” presented and accepted by the European Commission under the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Batteries program, and then supported under competition by the National Centre for Research and Development.

The Polish Development Fund (PFR) also partially financed the construction and commissioning of the Zawiercie plant. Together with the International Finance Corp. and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, PFR invested $290 million in the Elemental Group’s activities. The remaining funds came from the company’s own resources, as well as commercial finance institutions.

“The Elemental Group, in line with its business strategy, develops organically and through acquisitions,” says Paweł Jarski, founder and president of the Elemental Group. “We conduct horizontal and vertical integration of the market for the recovery and recycling of metals from electric vehicles, automotive and industrial catalysts, PCBs from electronic devices. “In Poland, the Elemental Group employs over 400 people, and, globally, over 1,000. Apart from Poland, our main markets are the U.S. and Germany. In total, we operate in over 30 markets on three continents.”

Under agreements signed earlier this year with Huawei and Mitsubishi Corp., the Elemental Group says it acquired knowledge on the efficient collection of used electrical and electronic equipment and LIBs, as well as the resources necessary to accelerate the operation of the Zawiercie plant.

Next year, Elemental will start the construction of a similar plant in Wernigerode, Germany, as part of a joint venture with Westborough, Massachusetts-based battery recycler Ascend Elements. The processing capacity of this plant will be up to 58,000 batteries from EVs per year.

The new plant in Poland will process LIBs from EVs and automotive and industrial catalysts. Elemental says this process will allow it to obtain valuable raw materials, which will then be used to produce battery material precursors (pCAM), new catalysts and membranes for electrolyzers and fuel cells. The recovered metals will be used primarily in the electromobility industry and in renewable energy. Byproducts also include plastics, copper and aluminum.

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“The processed materials, such as used batteries and postproduction scrap, will mainly come from the European market, and the recovered metals will be delivered to companies that will use them in further production processes, contributing to sustainable development and reduction of CO₂ emissions," Elemental Strategic Metals management board member Maciej Dudzic says. “In this way, the plant contributes to reducing the import of primary raw materials, the export of valuable materials outside the EU, and supports the domestic recycling market.”

Zygmunt adds that the plant is not only a great investment that provides an opportunity to increase raw material security for Poland while reducing environmental impact, but it also aids in the development of the region. The facility in Zawiercie directly employs 120 people and indirectly generates about 100 jobs in cooperating companies. By the end of the year, Elemental says about 30 more people will be employed there.

Additionally, the plant has launched its own 12-megawatt photovoltaic farm and what Elemental claims is the largest energy storage facility in Poland.