REG - Neometals Ltd - Mercedes Benz Plant Opening

NeometalsAnnouncement

22/10/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0988J  Neometals Ltd  22 October 2024

 

 

22 October 2024

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

Mercedes Benz Plant Opening

Sustainable process technology developer, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT, AIM: NMT
& OTCQX: NMTAY) ("Neometals" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce the
official inauguration by Mercedes-Benz ("Mercedes") of its integrated
mechanical-hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery ("LiB") recycling plant in
Kuppenheim, Germany, which uses the technology of Neometals' 50:50
incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) ("Primobius"). The full text of the Primobius
press release is set out below.

Primobius is an incorporated battery recycling joint venture ("JV") company,
owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH ("SMS"). Primobius is
commercialising a patented LiB recycling process via a plant supply and
technology licensing business model.

Primobius has designed, fabricated and is installing a 2,500 tpa integrated
plant under purchase orders received from Mercedes after it was selected as
technology partner in March 2022. Primobius has also entered into a five
(5)-year research collaboration aimed at jointly developing a tailored,
industrial-scale LiB recycling solution for Mercedes.(( 1 ))

Neometals Managing Director, Chris Reed, said:

"We are incredibly proud of Primobius and its team's achievement on its
journey to deliver lithium-ion battery recycling plants to our valued
customers and licensees around the world. The inauguration of Mercedes-Benz's
plant in Kuppenheim is a momentous day and a vital milestone in affirming our
credibility, quality and commitment to serving our customers' needs now and
into the future."

Primobius Press Release: 21 October 2024

Recycling plant opened - Mercedes-Benz closes its own battery loop with
Primobius technology

·      First battery recycling plant in Europe based on an integrated
mechanical-hydrometallurgical process opened by Mercedes-Benz in Kuppenheim,
southern Germany

·      Primobius provides the technology to recover key materials such
as lithium, nickel, cobalt and more to enable the production of new battery
modules

Kuppenheim. On October 21, Mercedes-Benz officially opened Europe's first
battery recycling plant based on an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical
process. As the cooperation partner, Primobius is responsible for the
engineering, equipment supply, and installation of the two-stage recycling
plant. The integrated solution, which Primobius built for Mercedes-Benz, is
aimed at producing high-purity, low-carbon battery materials for reuse in the
supply chain.

Dr. Michel Siemon, CEO: "Primobius has put much effort into this project and
we are proud to support Mercedes-Benz in achieving its ambitious goals with
our efficient, sustainable recycling solution. Together we will generate
high-purity, low-carbon footprint battery materials for reuse in the battery
supply chain. I am very proud of the entire team and also the excellent
collaboration we established with Mercedes-Benz."

Integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical recycling concept

With Primobius' technology at its Kuppenheim site, Mercedes-Benz is the first
automotive manufacturer worldwide to close the battery material loop with its
own recycling plant. The process covers all steps, from shredding the battery
modules to drying and processing the battery's active materials.

While the mechanical process sorts the plastics, copper, aluminum, and iron by
type in a complex, multi-stage process, the downstream hydrometallurgical
process focuses on the so-called black mass, which is the main product from
the mechanical process. Black mass contains the valuable materials that make
up the electrodes in battery cells. The valuable metals comprising lithium,
nickel, cobalt and manganese are extracted individually in a multi-stage
chemical process. The process is designed to produce recycled materials of
battery-grade quality which can be used to produce new battery cells.

"The reality is that electric vehicles have a very large legacy CO(2)
footprint from the production phase owing to the whole life carbon emissions
associated with the battery raw materials involved. The concept of
electromobility can only be sustainable once we succeed in recovering valuable
battery materials in an energy-efficient way. That is exactly what we do with
our solutions. We are proud to be amongst the first to realize a
resource-efficient recycling technology in the heart of Europe," says Dr.
Michel Siemon.

The Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant in Kuppenheim has an annual capacity
of 2,500 tons. The recovered materials will be used to produce more than
50,000 battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models. The shredder
in Kuppenheim has been in operation since spring 2024, with final
commissioning in progress. Final assembly and commissioning of the
hydrometallurgical processes will continue gradually after the opening event.

Authorised for release by the Board of Neometals Ltd.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

 

 Neometals Ltd
 Chris Reed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer       +61 8 9322 1182
 Chris Kelsall, CFO & Company Secretary                        +61 8 9322 1182

 Cavendish Capital Markets Ltd - NOMAD & Broker
 Neil McDonald                                                +44 (0)131 220 9771
 Peter Lynch                                                  +44 (0)131 220 9772
 Adam Rae                                                     +44 (0)131 220 9778

About Neometals

Neometals facilitates sustainable critical material supply chains and reduces
the environmental burden of traditional mining in the global transition to a
circular economy.

The Company is commercialising a portfolio of sustainable processing solutions
that recycle and recover critical materials from high-value waste streams.

·      Neometals' core focus is its patented, Lithium-ion Battery
("LiB") Recycling technology (50% NMT), being commercialised in a 50:50
incorporated JV (Primobius GmbH) with 150-year-old German plant builder, SMS
group GmbH. Primobius is supplying Mercedes-Benz a 2,500tpa recycling plant
and operates its own LiB Disposal Service in Germany. Primobius' first
21,000tpa commercial plant will be offered to Stelco under an existing
technology licence for North America.

Neometals is developing two advanced battery materials technologies for
commercialisation under low-risk, low-capex technology licensing business
models:

·      Lithium Chemicals (70% NMT) - Patented ELi™ electrolysis
process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce battery quality
lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at lowest quartile
operating costs. Pilot scale test work and Engineering Cost Study update
planned for completion in DecQ 2024; and

 

·      Vanadium Recovery (100% NMT) - Patent pending hydrometallurgical
process to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide from steelmaking by-product
("Slag") at lowest-quartile operating cost and carbon footprint.

 

For further information, visit: www.neometals.com.au
(https://www.neometals.com.au/) .

 1  For full details refer to Neometals ASX announcement headlined
"Cooperation Agreement with Mercedes Benz" released on 13(th) May 2022

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