Localizing Supply Chains and What This Signals for Li-ion Battery Recycling, Refining and End-User Markets
Ascend Elements, a major US-based Li-ion battery recycler and refiner, has announced a multi-year offtake agreement for recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate with Trafigura, a major global commodities supplier. This signals a significant development in lithium material supply chains. IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Conrad Nichols reviewed the details of the agreement under embargo earlier this week, and discussed the news in interview with Ascend Elements CEO Linh Austin.
Ascend Elements, a major US-based Li-ion battery recycler and refiner, has announced a multi-year offtake agreement for lithium carbonate with Trafigura, a major global commodities supplier. This offtake agreement will see 15,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate being delivered to Trafigura by Ascend Elements between 2027 and 2031. The material is derived from spent Li-ion batteries and manufacturing scrap. The company can produce the material at its plant in Covington, Georgia, US.
This signals a significant development in lithium material supply chains, and in interview with IDTechEx, Ascend Elements CEO Linh Austin explained that by supplying to Trafigura, "this provides another outlet for Ascend Elements' products and services". As explained in IDTechEx's market report, "Li-ion Battery Recycling 2025-2045", while supplying such materials to commodity markets has been observed, many Li-ion recyclers and refiners will be targeting key relationships with cathode manufacturers and OEMs in the long-term. This will help to help to close and localize battery supply chains in the US and Europe, reducing reliance on the Chinese supply of critical battery materials. Austin also explained that localizing battery material production will reduce the CO2 emissions tied to sending battery materials to China for refinement and shipping Li-ion cells back to western countries.
Inside Ascend Elements' Li-ion battery recycling and refining plant in Convington, GA. Source: Ascend Elements.
While this agreement will support supply of lithium carbonate to commodity markets, it emphasizes the emergence of local, commercial-scale battery-grade material production outside China. The purity of lithium carbonate produced by Ascend Elements is 99.5%+ and is battery-grade. As well as being suitable for new battery manufacturing, this material sees strong demand in other applications such as high-performance specialty glass and glass-ceramics. Ascend Elements is continuing its conversations with cathode active material (CAM) manufacturers and OEMs to secure partnerships which will close and localize battery material supply chains in the future. This will be particularly important given the uptick in data center demand in the US, where Li-ion battery storage technologies are being increasingly adopted and co-located to provide uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
To match growing Li-ion battery (LIB) demand and minimize reliance on Chinese material supply, it will be key for recyclers in the US and Europe to establish strong and diversified sources of Li-ion recycling and refining feedstock. Austin explained to IDTechEx that ~80% of Ascend Elements' feedstock is Li-ion cell manufacturing scrap, but by the early 2030s, this could be expected to shift down to ~20-30% as the availability of end-of-life (EOL) Li-ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the US increases. Until then, IDTechEx expects recyclers to potentially adopt strategies of co-locating new recycling and refining plants close to new cell gigafactories, allowing them to take advantage of the 10%+ wastage that is often exhibited in these facilities. Ascend Elements is also monitoring the growth of battery storage for stationary applications in US and European markets, such as for data centers. Indeed, once they reach EOL, these batteries will also eventually become a key source of recycling and refining feedstock in the longer-term, which will also aid in localizing western critical battery material supply chains.
For more information on Li-ion battery recycling, including granular 20-year market forecasts, please refer to IDTechEx's market report: Li-ion Battery Recycling Market 2025-2045: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies, and Players.
