Battery materials and technology company Talga Group (ASX:TLG) has signed a development agreement with Aurubis AG to develop a recycled graphite anode product from used batteries and battery production scrap.
Aurubis is a leading global provider of non-ferrous metals and one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide.
The Development Agreement, under which the partners aim to finalise development for product readiness by 20251, is driven by growing customer interest in recycled graphite anode as a complement to Talnode-C, Talga’s flagship natural graphite anode product.
The company’s strategy in development and commercialisation of its Talnode®-C Recycled Series is to provide global expansion opportunities for Talga, and includes securing partnerships with major industry players such as Aurubis. This Development Agreement is Talga’s second graphite anode recycling partnership and builds on the Company’s earlier work on refining recycled black mass for use in its battery anode production creating a closed loop for graphite anode materials in Europe.
]“We are pleased to partner with Aurubis on development of a commercial recycled anode product. This partnership aligns with our broader ambition to produce battery materials that enable the world’s most sustainable batteries," Talga CEO, Martin Phillips, said.
"Tlga’s Talnode-C Recycled Series is designed to support a closed loop battery supply chain and provides expansion potential underpinned by a range of low-emission feedstock options.”
Under the Development Agreement, Aurubis will supply Talga with graphite concentrate from the black mass of spent batteries and production scrap. Talga will purify the graphite concentrate and refine into anode material using its patent-pending recycled graphite processing and patented anode production technologies, modified from the Company’s Swedish graphite anode project.
Talga will aim to deliver an anode material which is based entirely on recycled material, as well as a blended anode material comprised of recycled material and Talnode-C.
The EU has implemented numerous policies to encourage uptake of recycled battery materials. The Critical Raw Materials Act has set a 2030 target to derive 25% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials (which includes battery grade graphite) from recycled sources.
Additionally, the EU’s Battery Regulation has set ambitious targets for battery makers: overall recycling efficiency of lithium-ion batteries must be at least 70% by end of 2030. Recycling spent graphite can become a substantial building block to achieve the requirements. The Battery Regulation will also require battery makers to declare the provenance of all materials used in creation of the battery to satisfy ESG due diligence requirements.