Refining black mass and residual streams – extracting resources

Black mass as the final product? Not with us! We produce high-value raw materials with our hydrometallurgy.

Many recyclers regard black mass – the dangerous waste resulting from the shredding of batteries and accumulators – as the last step in the process. We, however, refine black mass to extract high-quality raw materials. We also treat waste and residual by-products from mechanical battery recycling systems, as well as production waste from cell manufacturing.

Black mass, which results from mechanical battery and accumulator treatment, contains valuable materials, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium. However, it cannot be used immediately in cell production - but instead must be refined beforehand. While many recyclers only resell black mass, we refine it in-house to extract valuable raw materials.

Byproducts also result from mechanical pre-treatment systems (foil trimmings and contaminated metal scraps). These contain valuable metals, which we utilize through further refinement, and feed back into the production cycle.

When producing new cells, different types of scrap also appear, including essential valuable materials. We process powders, foils, dusts, and slurries from this process to regain new chemicals.

We start with a thermal process to concentrate these valuable materials. Hydrometallurgical conditioning is the next step to obtain valuable metals from black mass and residual streams, and to make them available for battery production.

Although at first glance black mass and residual stream materials are seemingly only waste products, they have great potential, if we further refine them using suitable expertise and technologies. We at Nickelhütte Aue keep these valuable materials entirely within the circular economy: thanks to in-house refinement, we transform black mass and residual streams immediately into high-value raw materials, which, in turn, can be reused in battery production. This strategy adds value for our customers and simultaneously strengthens the European raw materials market. Whereas other recyclers often export their black mass, we offer all-inclusive solutions in single-source responsibility in an efficient and sustainable manner. In this way we fulfill the EC requirements in the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) for recycling that conserves resources and thus contributes to a responsible circular economy in Europe.

What enables Nickelhütte Aue to better refine black mass and byproducts – unlike many other European recyclers? The decisive difference lies in our hydrometallurgical procedures that target the extraction of valuable metals. We extract high-purity nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium salts in a series of leaching, cleaning and crystallization processes. These salts are the immediate basis for new lithium-ion battery production. These technologies have been established for centuries, and our research department is constantly making them more efficient, cleaner, and more sustainable.

Why is this so important?

• Resource conservation: Feeding back the metals into the production cycle, we implement closed-loop recycling and prevent the loss or exportation of valuable metals to countries outside the European Union.
• We observe supply chain law: The entire process from provision of incoming materials to extracting the new raw material is regional and fair, and we maintain safety standards that, in turn, make local supply chains more resilient.
• Customer benefit: Companies profit from an all-inclusive solution that completely refines black mass, byproducts, and production waste, maintains safety standards, and reintroduces the extracted materials into the production cycle.