Recyclus Group, a 49% Technology Minerals owned company, has signed a partnership agreement with hazardous waste management and service delivery provider Slicker Recycling with a view to creating a circular economy for the UK battery market.
The agreement marks the launch of a national initiative with the aim of improving battery recycling capability in the UK from small-scale manual operations to sustainable recycling on an industrial scale.
Alex Stanbury, CEO at Technology Minerals, said, “The Partnership will help ramp up our recycling capacity for both lead-acid and Li-ion batteries and builds on our strategy and goal to help tackle the critical upcoming supply shortages of the key minerals being used to drive the global transition to electric vehicles.
Slicker Recycling will collect battery waste from around the UK and transport it to the closest Recyclus Group Ltd recycling plant. Recyclus can then salvage key materials (cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese) from spent batteries for reintroduction into the market.
Mark Olpin, managing director for Slicker Recycling, added, “Diversifying into new and innovative markets is a key part of our growth plans, and our link-up with Technology Minerals is a vital partnership to kick-start an effective, circular economy solution for the UK’s growing battery market.
“The raw materials extracted from the used batteries collected as part of this partnership will go back into industry as part of a closed loop solution. This is especially welcome at a time when electric car production and ownership is at its highest ever level, with that trend set to continue.
“We have strong credentials in the automotive sector, so this partnership is the perfect fit at a time when both our organizations are firmly focused on the circular economy and how we preserve finite resources,” Olpin concluded.