AE Elemental Opens Cutting-Edge Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facility in Poland

AE Elemental, a collaboration between U.S.-based Ascend Elements and Poland’s Elemental Strategic Metals, celebrated the opening of its first commercial-scale electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility today in Zawiercie, Poland. This newly built facility can process 12,000 metric tons of used lithium-ion batteries annually—equivalent to about 28,000 EV battery packs—making it one of the largest in Europe. The grand opening attracted numerous business and community leaders from both Europe and North America, who toured the cutting-edge facility.

As the demand for electric vehicles rises, lithium-ion battery recycling is becoming essential in the EV battery materials supply chain. By 2030, the European Union (EU) will require new batteries to contain a minimum percentage of recycled content. Additionally, recycling helps prevent hazardous battery materials from ending up in landfills, reducing the environmental impact of mining nickel, cobalt, and lithium.

Michal Zygmunt, CEO of Elemental Strategic Metals, remarked, "We have made significant strides toward becoming a global leader in recycling materials vital for EV battery production. Our state-of-the-art processing facility in Zawiercie, along with one of the most developed waste collection networks in Europe, reflects our commitment to this venture."

The AE Elemental facility will disassemble, discharge, and shred EV batteries to produce black mass, which can be transformed into new engineered battery materials like cathode active material (CAM) and cathode precursor (pCAM). Plans are also in place to add commercial-scale lithium extraction capabilities by Fall 2024, aiming for operational readiness by 2026.

"This marks a significant milestone for Ascend Elements as we open our first commercial-scale battery recycling facility in Europe," said Mike O'Kronley, CEO of Ascend Elements. "Expanding into Europe will enable us to better serve our customers locally and help the industry comply with new EU regulations on recycled materials in batteries."

In addition to the Polish facility, the joint venture aims to establish Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Germany, which will have the capacity to recycle up to 25,000 metric tons of batteries per year—equivalent to about 58,000 EVs annually.

Elemental Strategic Metals, a member of the Elemental Group, operates a cutting-edge multi-metal extraction facility in Poland that specializes in recovering battery metals and platinum group metals. The Elemental Group is a global leader in urban mining, specializing in the extraction of strategic metals from a range of recycled materials. These sources include spent automotive catalysts (SACs), waste electrical and electronic equipment, printed circuit boards (PCBs), used lithium-ion batteries, and non-ferrous scrap metal. The company is committed to environmentally friendly recovery of strategic metals such as platinum group metals, copper, and other base and precious metals. Elemental has subsidiaries in 35 countries across four continents: Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.