BIR Singapore 2024 - Electrics/Electronics/EV Batteries Committee: New markets, new technologies, new opportunities
“Technology is changing and recyclers are adapting to that change, embracing it, and using it for a better experience” was a key message as the BIR World Recycling Convention in Singapore wound up on 29 October. The comment came from Josephita Harry, Vice-President, Pan American Zinc LLC (USA) as she chaired the Electrics, Electronics and EV Batteries committee, the final convention session. “The recycling industry today is at a crossroads of the greatest technological innovations,” Ms Harry said. “We all play a very pivotal role in transforming today's challenges into tomorrow's sustainable solutions.”
Sadamitsu Sakoguchi, Deputy Director, Industrial and Hazardous Waste Management Division, Ministry of Environment (JPN), set out how the Japanese Government was managing e-scrap and particularly imports and exports. His presentation outlined the classification of e-waste, distinguishing between hazardous and non-hazardous categories, and highlighted Japan’s role in promoting a circular economy through advanced recycling technologies.
He reminded the session of the scope of the Basel Convention for e-waste in households and pointed out that Japan was the world’s biggest recycler among OECD countries, accounting for around half of the total share. E-scrap recycled in Japan in 2022 amounted to 350,000 tonnes, of which 170,000 tonnes were imported.
Mr Sakoguchi explained how exports of e-scrap to non-OECD countries required strict examination while imports into Japan are processed at high-capability, pre-consented recovery facilities – although they were not regulated. A certification system facilitated simplified procedures for compliant transporters and recycling facilities.
In May 2024, the OECD Council agreed that instead of setting a unified rule, each country can decide how to deal with e-scrap, including printed circuit boards (PCBs). As a result, Japan updated the relevant regulation and developed its guidance. “We expect that many OECD countries will switch to follow the Basel rule from 2025 so we will continue using the OECD code for PCBs,’ he said.
Markets of the future
Another guest speaker Lee Allen, Strategic Markets Editor, Fastmarkets (GBR) declared the markets covered by the committee were “very much the markets of the future”. His presentation focussed on Black Mass, a powder created from the mechanical crushing and shredding of lithium-ion batteries which contains several important metals used in the production of batteries. “We're going to have an enormous future spike in the supply of this material which needs to be recycled.”
He identified a present-day problem, however: “Battery materials have absolutely crashed in value over the last year.” Mr Allen’s data showed that, as of mid-October, the LME nickel cash offer was down 8% year-on-year while FM reported year-on-year falls of 34% for cobalt and 54% for lithium carbonate.
“If you're dealing with lithium salts, and some of the cobalt salts, these prices have come down by a larger percentage than black mass has itself,” he said. “What that has led to is a tightening in the margins for many of the black mass refiners.” Mr Allen insisted a vibrant future awaited battery recycling with greater demand in the west. “The EU Battery Regulation stipulates recycled content in new batteries from 2031 of 6% for lithium and nickel, and 16% for cobalt in 2031. This will spur greater black mass consumption, not only in Europe, but across the world.” According to Fastmarkets, more than two million tonnes of black mass will be produced globally by 2034.
Asian successes
A local success story was painted by Desmond Toh, Head, Sustainability, GLC Recycle Pte Ltd (SGP), who outlined the growth of his company’s two operations in Singapore and Laos. The plants are each planned to process an annual 72,000 tonnes by 2026 – up from the current 15,000 and 24,000 respectively. The technology is a hybrid of hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy which is claimed to deliver more than 90% lithium purity and 99% for nickel and cobalt. During questions, Mr Toh was asked how used batteries packs were being dismantled and discharged cost-effectively at scale, especially as it was usually a labour-intensive activity. He responded that most of the material received was production scrap so there was no need for discharging. “However, we are working together with technology partners like Siemens to look into the automatic dismantling and discharging of such EV modules that we will be receiving in times to come.”
Another speaker, Lionel Lai, Sales and Procurement, Majestic Corporation PLC (AUS), talked of a shift in the industrial landscape with significant investments from the global east to the west. “Korean and Japanese smelters, for instance, are expanding through joint ventures in the US, building collection and smelting facilities.”
Mr Lai said a prime example was Korea Zinc, which operates four electronic shredding facilities via a subsidiary in the US. It has recently acquired St Louis-based Kataman Metals and plans to increase copper production to 150,000 tonnes by 2028 primarily using secondary materials. “This shift towards processing end-of-life electronics and other base metals will not only ensure steady supply chains but also significantly reduce carbon emissions,” he concluded.