Battery Metals

An asteroid as big as a football field that has been singled out by scientists an ideal target for a mining exploration mission, will break into Earth’s orbit on December 11.

While the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as “potentially hazardous” due to its size and how close it will get to our planet’s surface, those features make of asteroid 4660 Nereus an attractive candidate for potential exploration.

As an Apollo-class asteroid, Nereus’ orbit frequently puts it close to Earth. Its orbital resonance is approximately 2:1, meaning that it orbits almost twice for every orbit of the Earth. This makes a mission to explore the asteroid very feasible.

Nereus will come the closest to our planet it has been in the past 20 years, yet it set to pass 7.4 million km away, which is about 10 times the distance between the Moon and Earth.

No missions are currently known to be ready to explore Nereus, however it has been considered before. Both NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous-Shoemaker (NEAR) robotic mission and the Japanese Hayabusa mission looked into Nereus as target, but both eventually chose other options.

According to NASA, if a mission were to be launched this year, it would take anywhere between 426-146 days, though the delta-v this time around would be around 10.37 km/s, slightly higher than launching a rocket into low-orbit.

Asteroid exploration is a major field in astronomy, with space agencies, governments and private companies already involved in studying them as source of water and minerals.

A recent report by IDTechEx states that as original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs) interest in lithium-ion battery recycling grows, global recycling capacity is likely to increase exponentially and about 12 million tonnes of li-ion batteries are to be recycled by 2042.

According to the market analyst, numerous stakeholders across the value chain are upping recycling capacity to prepare for the mass availability of end-of-life batteries due to supply, regulatory, and environmental motivations.

In some cases, there is particular interest in helping build a domestic battery metal supply, while in others, there is the desire to reduce reliance on unsustainable mining practices and hedge risks of fluctuating metal prices.

In parallel, OEMs are subject to Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, which means that they are responsible for EV batteries when they reach their end-of-life. 

“Therefore, it is in the OEMs’ best interests to develop efficient, economic routes for waste end-of-life batteries, and the environmental credentials associated with recycling are also beneficial,” the report reads. “IDTechEx has identified nearly 90 battery recyclers globally and observed that most of the current recycling capacity is in China.”

Despite such concentration, the market researcher mentions that there are initiatives moving forward outside of China.

One of such projects is Volkswagen’s pilot plant for recycling Li-ion batteries in Salzgitter, which was commissioned in 2021, and which is part of the company’s vertically integrated recycling and second-life business 

Another example highlighted in the report is that of Renault, which operates a battery hire scheme on three of its models, as well as full ownership options. In fact, the company optimizes the end-of-life management of its EV batteries using second-life applications and recycling with partners, such as Veolia.

Tesla, on the other hand, is said to be developing a battery recycling system at its Gigafactory in Nevada, having relied on third-party recyclers in the past, while BMW has formed strategic partnerships with recyclers, seeking to design cells with recycling in mind.

“The involvement of these major OEMs looking to boost the sustainability of their EVs reflects the anticipation of the part li-ion battery recycling will play in the future value chain,” the dossier states. “Not only are the OEMs likely to carry a legal responsibility for end-of-life Li-ion batteries, but the trends they influence will impact the profitability of recycling. In addition to creating partnerships with recyclers from other sectors, OEMs themselves are acting and investing in their own processes and supply circularity.”

Costs expected to go down

In the view of IDTechEx’s experts, process costs for battery recycling are set to decrease as recyclers scale.

The thing to keep in mind is, thus, the chemical composition of EV batteries. 

For the market analyst, the value of metals recyclers can extract from end-of-life EV batteries will be impacted by growing interest in lower-value LFP cathodes, which is driven by the desire to drive battery costs down. 

On the other hand, even though the most value can be extracted from LCO cathodes due to their high cobalt content, these are typically used in consumer electronics which – according to the report – are challenging to develop collection networks for and will account only for a small percentage of li-ion batteries recycled. 

Uranium One, a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, has signed an agreement to form a joint venture to develop a Tolillar lithium deposit in Argentina to diversify its business, it said in a statement on Monday.

The South American country, part of the region’s so-called lithium triangle, is trying to ramp up production of the metal, demand for which is surging worldwide due to its use in batteries that power electric vehicles. Many consumers and governments scour the world for it.

“Lithium is an essential material for the provision of resources for the green economy of the future. The development of this line of business is strategically important for Rosatom,” Uranium One said in a statement. “We are currently evaluating other rare and important metal deposits.”

As part of the agreement, Uranium One will spend $30 million to buy a 15% stake in Alpha One Lithium, which owns a project firm holding right to develop the deposit. Alpha Lithium Corporation will keep the remaining 85% stake in the project.

Once a bankable feasibility study is complete, Uranium One will have an option to raise its stake in the project to 50% for $185 million and secure the right to purchase 100% of the project’s future production.

The 27,500-hectare deposit is located in the Argentine province of Salta.

China is powering Asian countries in the race to ramp up capacity to recycle retired electric-vehicle (EV) batteries, with new technologies being deployed to tackle environmental shortcomings, according to industry experts.

The region has an annual capacity to process 43.5 gigawatts-hours of spent EV batteries based on existing facilities and those in the pipeline, according to a report published by Fitch Solutions. This compared to 40.9 GWh in Europe and 26.3 GWh in the US.

China, home to Tesla’s biggest challengers, is living up to its ranking as the world’s biggest EV market by contributing 33.7 GWh of the capacity in the region. South Korea and India provided most of the remaining recycling facilities, according to the November 26 report.

“We expect China’s battery-recycling capacity to grow exponentially over the next decade to manage the vast number of retired EV batteries,” said Phoebe O’Hara, an autos associate analyst of the firm’s country risk and industry research group.

EV makers like BYD Co, Nio, XPeng and Li Auto are likely to announce their plans over the next year to either build new facilities or expand existing ones, she told the Post separately in an email.

China’s EV industry is expected to generate 2.4 million units of pure electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell-powered vehicles this year, double the volume in 2020, according to projection by the China Passenger Car Association.

The dominant pyrometallurgy recycling method, which uses high temperature smelting procedures to recover valuable metals such as cobalt and nickel, may persist for the next two to three years, O’Hara said. The environment-friendlier hydrometallurgy method may be deployed after that, she added.

Unlike pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy avoids soil and water pollution problems by using an aqueous solution to recover those metals. The new recovery method is still being tested at most recycling facilities, she noted.

The water-based method will become the mainstream process for upcoming facilities, said Bill Ho Kam-piu, co-founder and chief scientific officer of GRST, a Hong Kong-based battery-recycling technology start-up.

e there is no regulation to ban specific battery recycling processes, the Chinese government through the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has provided policy support and subsidies to a “white list” of companies.
They would need to meet certain thresholds in operating scale, automation level, energy consumption, emission standards and resource re-utilisation efficiency, said Ho, whose company has a joint venture to build a water-based EV battery manufacturing plant in eastern Zhejiang province. A recycling facility will be added after its production is ramped up.

GRST’s joint-venture facility will have an initial annual production capacity of 0.5 GWh in 2022 before rising to 15 GWh by 2028. It could cut carbon emissions by up to 40 per cent during battery production, and by up to 80 per cent during recycling compared to using the pyrometallurgy method.

In North America, O’Hara said mixing hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, a practice adopted by Nevada-based battery recycling start-up Redwood Materials, looks likely to become an industry standard.

In Europe, the latest policy update in January required EV battery makers to recycle their products and the processes they employ must adhere to minimum recycling efficiencies and sustainability benchmarks, including carbon emissions.

Swedish battery developer Northvolt announced earlier this month that it has produced its first lithium-ion battery cell with 100 per cent recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt from battery waste – the first such success for Europe’s recycling industry.

Northvolt plans to build Europe’s largest battery-recycling plant capable of processing 125,000 tonnes annually. It will be sufficient to meet the needs for its goal to make 30 GWh of batteries with 50 per cent recycled materials by 2030.

S&P Global Market Intelligence November Commodity Briefing states that cobalt metal prices are expected to remain supported for the remainder of 2021 as logistical pressures persist.

“There are no signs that trade logistics are easing, with inland and port inefficiencies in South Africa exacerbated by a global vessel shortage, shipping delays, and higher fees,” MI senior analyst, metals & mining research, Alice Yu, said in the report. “[South African state-owned logistics company] Transnet is also proposing to increase the port tariff by 23.96% in the 2022-23 financial year which, if implemented, could sustain high transport costs.”

According to S&P Global Platts assessments, European 99.8% cobalt metal prices have risen 88.7% since the start of 2021 to $30/lb IW Europe November 24, the highest level since December 2018.

Yu, however, expects prices to fall 8.3% in 2022 on supply growth and the easing of most supply chain bottlenecks.

Total cobalt supply is forecast to total 196,000 mt in 2022, up from 136,000 mt in 2020 and an estimated 164,000 mt in 2021.

On the demand side, S&P MI estimated that cobalt demand would continue growing as higher plug-in electric vehicle sales offset the impact of cobalt thrifting in batteries.

The forecast shows total cobalt demand to rise to 195,000 Mt in 2022, up from 132,000 Mt in 2020 and an estimated 170,000 mt in 2021.

But since supply will also be climbing, the overall cobalt market balance is expected to return to a surplus of 1,000 Mt in 2022, after moving into an estimated deficit of 8,000 mt in 2021 from a surplus of 4,000 Mt in 2020.

“A stronger supply ramp-up through to 2024 will sustain a market surplus during the period, pressuring prices,” Yu said.

In her view, the overall cobalt demand was benefiting from a broader-based recovery in 2021 in the metallurgical sector and PEVs, with the aerospace sector seeing increased deliveries — Airbus and Boeing up 51.5% year on year — in the first nine months of 2021, although these were still down 23.8% compared with pre-pandemic levels in the same period of 2019.

China’s Weiming Group, which makes equipment to treat solid waste, has signed a deal to invest in a $400 million project to produce nickel matte in Indonesia, becoming the latest Chinese firm to enter the Southeast Asia country’s battery supply chain.

Weiming said in a statement that the project, in which it will partner with a company called Indigo, would produce 40,000 tonnes per year of nickel matte, an intermediate product that can be used to make battery-grade nickel for electric vehicles (EVs) or stainless steel.

Indonesia, which banned exports of nickel ore from the start of 2020 to boost its domestic processing industry, is home to several Chinese-backed projects designed to produce nickel chemicals for EV batteries.

Weiming said the Indigo tie-up, described as a framework agreement, would also focus on the development of low-grade nickel ore and tailings utilisation technology. Mine tailings are the crushed remnants of ore.

“The company plans to increase investment in the new energy industry chain,” and will draw on its experience in manufacturing environmentally friendly equipment, its statement, issued on Wednesday, said.

Weiming is based in Wenzhou in China’s Zhejiang province, the same city that is home to top global nickel producer Tsingshan Holding Group.

Tsingshan has several projects in Indonesia and in March roiled nickel markets by announcing plans to make matte at scale and sell it to companies making battery materials.

In late June, Weiming signed a broad strategic cooperation agreement with Tsingshan that envisaged cooperation in areas including waste battery recycling and treatment of mine tailings.

It was not immediately clear if Indigo had any affiliation with Tsingshan.