Aurubis is expanding its expertise in the growth area of battery recycling: production is being commissioned in a new pilot plant at the Hamburg site after the successful conclusion of extensive lab-scale tests of the process. The pilot plant has a modular structure and will extract valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite from so-called black mass in a hydrometallurgical process, with exceptionally high yields. Black mass is a powdery residue that forms when lithium-ion batteries are dismantled and shredded.

The metals recovered in the Aurubis recycling process can then be used for new batteries and other products. The investments in the growth area of battery recycling are another example of the implementation of the Aurubis strategy Metals for Progress: Driving Sustainable Growth. Just recently in February, the multimetal supplier announced an investment of about EUR 70 million in the construction of a facility (BOB - Bleed treatment Olen Beerse) at the Aurubis site in Olen, Belgium, that will process electrolyte (referred to as bleed) and extract elements such as nickel from it - a central metal for electric vehicles.

These steps help Aurubis expand its role as industrial forerunner in sustainability and return important metals to the industrial cycle.