American Manganese Inc (CVE:AMY) (OTCQB:AMYZF) (FRA:2AM), which has a patented lithium-ion battery cathode recycling process (RecycLiCo), announced on Tuesday that it had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Italvolt SpA, Italy’s first battery Gigafactory and one of the largest in Europe, to develop a commercial recycling plant alongside Italvolt’s planned Gigafactory in Scarmagno, Italy.
The Canadian company and Italvolt will “work collaboratively” to recycle waste lithium-ion battery cathode material, using the advanced RecycLiCo process.
American Manganese and Italvolt view the MoU as a “strategic response” to the European Commission's proposed Batteries Regulation on December 10, 2020. The Batteries Regulation initiative is part of the new Circular Economy Action Plan, which aims to ensure that batteries placed in the EU market are sustainable and safe throughout their entire life cycle.
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In a nutshell, this supports batteries that are produced with the lowest possible environmental impact, which includes “high recycling rates of valuable materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese,” said the company.
"We are very excited about the collaboration with American Manganese. We have already initiated the engineering process in order to integrate the recycling plant within the Gigafactory,” Italvolt founder CEO Lars Carlstrom said in a statement.
“Using the ground-breaking circular technology that they have developed is a big step forward that will allow Italvolt to produce the greenest batteries in the world," he added.
Italvolt SpA is building the largest and greenest Gigafactory in Europe with a capacity of 45 GWh by 2024, potentially rising up to 70 GWh. The factory will be built at the iconic Olivetti factory in the heart of Europe's Motor Valley, in Scarmagno in Italy.
American Manganese CEO Larry Reaugh noted that Italvolt is a “next-generation Gigafactory” that aims to promote competitive sustainability in Europe by addressing “the social, economic and environmental issues related to lithium-ion batteries."
"We are thrilled to be part of their initiative and collaborate as an Italvolt-RecycLiCo vertically integrated recycling strategy to promote a circular and climate neutral economy,” added Reaugh.
Surrey, British Columbia-based American Manganese is a critical metals company focused on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. The RecycLiCo patented process was developed to offer a closed-loop and environmentally friendly solution for the recycling of cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. The recycling process provides high extraction and purity of cathode metals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminum.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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