Glencore eyes choices on battery recycling mission
by AFP Employees Writers
Zurich (AFP) Nov 23, 2023
Glencore will relocate testing for its battery recycling centre mission away from its web site in Italy, the Swiss commodities big advised AFP on Thursday.
Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless finding out the potential for creating a big centre in Italy, it added.
Glencore, which is especially energetic in metals buying and selling, introduced in Might that it was teaming up with the Canadian recycling firm Li-Cycle to launch a feasibility research into constructing a European lithium battery recycling centre at Portovesme, on the Italian island of Sardinia, the place the group already has current operations.
“Glencore has taken the choice to relocate the testing and demonstration part to an alternate location exterior Italy, that may enable for sooner commissioning of such an illustration mission,” it advised AFP in an electronic mail on Thursday.
The group, primarily based in Baar in central Switzerland, didn’t specify the place the assessments can be carried out, however careworn that the evaluation of its Sardinia web site would proceed.
“This growth doesn’t instantly influence the feasibility evaluation of the bigger hub mission. The particular feasibility research is ongoing and stays centered on Portovesme,” it mentioned.
“This initiative is necessary for our recycling technique and aligns with Italy’s targets for sustainable trade growth,” it added.
Glencore is already established in Portovesme on the south coast of Sardinia.
Lead and zinc are processed on the Portovesme industrial advanced, which has port entry, infrastructure and hydrometallurgical amenities.
In a joint assertion, the CGIL, FEMCA CISL and UILTEC commerce unions criticised the dealing with of the method, saying they had been involved by the shortage of a deadline given to Glencore and Li-Cycle, to the detriment of the funding.
Regional and nationwide authorities “should clearly state whether or not they nonetheless need the event of trade within the nation, definitely in compliance with environmental requirements, however with the understanding of deadlines”, they wrote.
“The one constructive component,” they added, “is that Glencore has confirmed the need to proceed the event of the definitive lithium mission in Portovesme” whereas warning towards “the present perspective of the area and the federal government”.
As international locations shift gear from fossil gasoline autos to electrified vehicles, recycling supplies from batteries is changing into a significant focus. Recycling would additionally ease dependence on sure international locations for uncooked supplies.
Recurrently criticised by environmental organisations, usually on account of its coal actions, Glencore continuously stresses that it additionally processes necessary supplies for the vitality transition similar to cobalt, which is used for electrical automobile batteries.
It additionally usually highlights the recycling of metals to satisfy the sturdy demand for copper.
The mission by Glencore and its Canadian accomplice goals to arrange a European centre producing recycled supplies for batteries, together with the recycling of lithium-ion but additionally cobalt and nickel.
Battery recycling is without doubt one of the main challenges for the automotive sector as some 350 million electrical vehicles are anticipated to be on the street worldwide by 2030, in comparison with 16.5 million in 2021, based on the Worldwide Vitality Company.
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