Glencore CEO Gary Nagle.
Glencore, which last month initiated steps to provide lithium-ion battery recycling solutions at scale for Spain and Portugal in partnership with FCC Ámbito and Iberdrola, has announced another potentially far-reaching step along the busying road to circularity – this time to study the feasibility of creating a hydrometallurgical facility for lithium-ion battery processing in Italy, in partnership with North American lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle.
Necessitating fresh investment in primary mine supply and secondary recycling are recent government policies that include the European Union’s proposed Green Deal Industrial Plan and the US’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The London- and Johannesburg-listed Glencore, headed by CEO Gary Nagle, is again signalling its intent –as it runs down its own coal business – to provide minerals and metals needed for the decarbonisation of the world’s energy grid.
The project underpins Glencore’s ambition to become the circularity partner of choice for the European battery and electric vehicle industry, Glencore recycling head Kunal Sinha stated in a media release.
Li-Cycle’s expansion in Europe will replicate the company’s North American model of pre-processing spoke network and centralised post- processing hub.