Lithium Australia’s subsidiary Envirostream ships mixed metal dust to South Korea’s SungEel Hitech
Envirostream’s mixed metal dust of cobalt, nickel, lithium and graphite will be used by SungEel Hitech for incorporation in new batteries.
Lithium Australia’s (ASX: LIT) subsidiary Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd has shipped the first mixed metal dust batch from its recently expanded Victorian plant.
The dust comprising cobalt, nickel, lithium and graphite is now on its way to South Korean battery recycler SungEel Hitech under and an offtake deal announced in November.
SungEel is one of the world’s largest battery recycling companies and is the biggest in South Korea.
Under the memorandum of understanding between the companies, SungEel has exclusivity to Envirostream’s mixed metal dust.
SungEel will then refine the chemicals further for incorporation into new lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said the shipment was “another important milestone” particularly in terms of revenue generation.
“By acquiring Envirostream and expanding its processing capacity, Lithium Australia is developing an environmentally responsible framework for Australian battery consumers,” Mr Griffin explained.
“We aim to encourage sustainable battery use with minimal environmental impact,” he added.
As part of Lithium Australia’s strategy to boost its ownership in Envirostream to 90%, the company has now cemented an 84% stake in the entity.
Commercialising energy storage strategy
In recent weeks, Lithium Australia has now made inroads into Australia’s energy storage market with the receival of its first commercial battery shipment earlier this month.
Under a joint venture with China’s DLG Group Soluna Australia Pty Ltd was established to sell lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage products within Australia to both residential and industrial sectors.
It is predicted that 16Gwh of energy storage will be required to meet Australia’s forecast renewable energy uptake by 2030.
To meet this anticipated demand, more than $5 billion is required to be invested in energy storage solutions over the next decade.
With its 50% ownership of Soluna, Lithium Australia plans to meet Australia’s market demand for fringe-of-grid and off-grid applications in addition to enhancing power usage in existing grids.
Soluna will maintain local energy storage stock to meet demand in addition to providing sales and technical support.