They will look for the right technology partners to build a specialized facility
MADRID, 11 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FCC Ámbito, a subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente, and Iberdrola, through its Perseo Venture Builder program, will seek with Glencore to provide lithium-ion battery recycling solutions on an industrial scale in the Iberian Peninsula through the development of a specialized facility , the three companies have informed through a statement.
Together, the parties will combine their capabilities to develop comprehensive management solutions for lithium batteries from both manufacturing rejects and end-of-life batteries.
In collaboration with the Iberian Center for Energy Storage Research (Ciiae), the parties have carried out an in-depth analysis of the potential market for battery recycling in the Iberian Peninsula and are working to identify the appropriate technology partners to carry out the installation, whose location is not yet defined.
The plant, which will be operated by FCC Ámbito, will allow the pre-separation of lithium-ion batteries for their subsequent refining.
With this purpose, this alliance will seek to establish the strategic agreements necessary for the effective recovery of lithium batteries, extending the positive impact of the initiative to other actors throughout the entire value chain. It will also contribute to the research and development necessary for the effective circularity of these materials.
The exponential adoption of electric vehicles will lead to a rapid increase in battery withdrawals -which will be around 35,000 metric tons per year in Spain in 2035- and the rejections of manufacturing new batteries.
In this context, this collaboration aims to develop an industrial facility that is prepared when such recycling capacities are required on the peninsula.
In this way, FCC and Iberdrola extend the collaboration they began to address the recycling of wind turbine blades, for which purpose they created the company EnergyLoop.
This new effort reinforces the circular economy strategies of FCC Ámbito and Iberdrola, which understand this model of production and consumption as a “key lever” for the energy transition, they highlighted in the statement.
“We are delighted to be part of this alliance in the circularity of batteries with Iberdrola, a world leader in renewable energy, and FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente, a leader in waste management services in Spain and Portugal. Together, we will seek to take advantage of the individual strengths of each company to bring circularity to the lithium-ion battery ecosystem in the Iberian Peninsula,” said Kunal Sinha, Global Head of Recycling at Glencore.
María Jesús Kaifer, Technical Director and Head of Circular Economy at FCC Ámbito, has pointed out that “with this collaboration, our company continues its search for strategic growth objectives, on which it has been working, such as the development of recycling solutions for materials related to the energy transition.
For his part, Álvaro Portellano, head of Perseo Venture Builder at Iberdrola, commented that the company sees this new collaboration “as a valuable opportunity to contribute to the circularity of the elements of the energy transition that we are promoting, in addition to expand the scope of our successful partnership with FCC which is already addressing the recycling of wind turbine blades”.
“Sustainable business models are the core of Iberdrola’s strategy, which is demonstrated by its leadership of more than two decades in the global renewable industry and in promoting the transition towards a decarbonized economy,” he added.
