Name of the Project
Lithium-ion battery recycling plant.

Location
Kuppenheim, in Southern Germany.

Project Owner/s
Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary Licular and technology partner Primobius, a 50:50 battery recycling joint venture between Neometals and SMS Group. Primobius is Mercedes’ preferred technology partner for the conceptual design and construction of the planned battery recycling and waste disposal recycling plant at Mercedes’ Kuppenheim operations.

Project Description
Mercedes-Benz is building a carbon dioxide-neutral recycling factory at its Kuppenheim operations. The project entails the construction of a 2 500 t/y lithium-ion battery recycling plant in two stages. The first stage involves the construction of a plant for mechanical dismantling, while the facilities for hydrometallurgical processing of the battery materials will go into operation during the second stage.

The process design of the patented hydrometallurgy, with recovery rates of more than 96%, is expected to allow for a holistic circular economy of battery materials.

The recovered materials will be fed back into the recycling loop to produce more than 50 000 battery modules for new Mercedes-EQ models.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
The pilot project is expected to start in 2023.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Mercedes-Benz Group, email ir.mbg@mercedes-benz.com.
Neometals, tel +61 8 9322 1182 or email info@neometals.com.au.