Aurubis Commenced Test Operation at Hamburg Pilot Recycling Plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Hamburg, Germany-headquartered, world’s leading copper recycler, Aurubis AG announced that it has commissioned production in a new pilot plant at its Hamburg site, following the successful completion of extensive lab-scale tests of the process.

The pilot plant extracts valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite from so-called black mass using a hydrometallurgical process. The metals recovered in the recycling process could be used for new batteries and other products.

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Further to successful conclusion of the pilot phase, Aurubis AG plans to build a battery recycling plant on an industrial scale. Most probably within the next five years. For this, the company currently anticipates an investment of approximately € 200 million. The investment is part of implementation of the Aurubis strategy “Metals for Progress: Driving Sustainable Growth”, said the company press release.

Earlier in February this year, it had announced an investment of around € 70 million in the construction of a facility at its Olen, Belgium site to process electrolyte and extract elements such as nickel from it.

Roland Harings, CEO, Aurubis AG noted that growth in electric vehicles and surge in demand for lithium-ion batteries has resulted in battery recycling gaining strong significance. Aurubis aims to play a leading role in battery recycling, Harings added.