Cengiz Holding Signs International Cooperation Agreement

ICoNiChem, the cobalt and nickel mining facility of Cengiz Holding, one of Turkey's largest industrial enterprises, has signed a collaboration agreement with NOVONIX, a Canadian battery materials and technology company, on the development of nickel-based cathode active materials.

The project, to be funded under the United Kingdom and Canada Critical Minerals 2024 Programme, involves recovering nickel, cobalt and lithium from waste battery powders to produce recycled new batteries.

Cengiz Holding, a company known for significant industrial investments in Turkey and worldwide, has entered into a new international partnership. ICoNiChem, the facility of Cengiz Holding located in Widnes, United Kingdom, which produces cobalt and nickel mining products, will manufacture cathode active materials for electric vehicle batteries in cooperation with NOVONIX, a Canadian battery materials and technology production company. In the project where ICoNiChem will recover nickel, cobalt and lithium from waste battery powders (black mass) from end-of-life vehicle batteries, NOVONIX will synthesize the metals and produce cathode active material. Funded under the United Kingdom and Canada Critical Minerals 2024 Programme and spanning 2 years, ICoNiChem qualified to receive GBP 160,000 funding from the Faraday Institution, which conducts research on electrochemical energy storage in the United Kingdom.

PROCESSING 250 TONS OF WASTE BATTERY POWDER ANNUALLY

ICoNiChem General Manager Berk Şengül, providing information on the project, stated that they have signed an important partnership in terms of zero waste and strengthening the supply chain of critical minerals, saying "As one of the world's most important companies in the production of cobalt and nickel salts, we process 250 tons of waste battery powder each year and recover an average of 25 tons of nickel and cobalt. In this project, we will obtain the most important raw materials that make up batteries from recycling by adding lithium, which we can currently recover in a laboratory environment, to these metals that we commercially recover. These purified metal salts will be synthesized by NOVONIX and converted into cathode active material. Following the electrification tests to be conducted, we will decide whether to produce it commercially. Should the project turn into commercial production, we will have taken a historic step in recycling batteries that have reached the end of their life, while ICoNiChem will become one of the first facilities in Europe to recover lithium," he said.

'CARBON FOOTPRINT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES WILL DECREASE'

Şengül, explaining that the project is very important in terms of further reducing the carbon footprint of electric vehicles, continued: "As the electric vehicle market continues to grow worldwide, the question of the future of batteries that have reached the end of their life remains on the agenda. In terms of keeping the carbon footprint at minimal levels, it is very important that these batteries are recycled in the countries where they are located. As a company based in the United Kingdom, which has a large electric vehicle market, through this partnership we are undertaking, we aim to further reduce the carbon footprint in line with the purpose of electric vehicles and support the battery recycling ecosystem, making it much more sustainable. We are very excited about this project, which we believe will make a significant contribution to the world."