Polish-Asian cooperation for the circular economy for the lithium battery market

TAIPEI, Dec. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Elemental Strategic Metals and ProLogium Technology signed an MOU to discuss about collaboration opportunities regarding the recycling of solid-state batteries. The two companies will cooperate to build a solid-state battery recycling platform in Europe to help strengthen the European EV battery industrial chain ecosystem.

Under the MOU, Elemental Strategic Metals will be one of the preferred recycling entities for ProLogium Technology. It means that the Asian company will supply the Polish company with used solid-state batteries and waste from their production for recycling in the first place. At the same time, both companies plan R&D cooperation of new recycling technologies for ProLogium's solid-state batteries.

"The use of batteries in electromobility is one of the crucial areas of the global economy. What is important, the resources of rare metals used for their production are limited. Therefore, close cooperation between producers and recyclers is necessary. I am convinced that our future cooperation will be beneficial for both companies. I also hope that joint research will result in new solutions used in the battery market." concluded Michał Zygmunt, CEO of Elemental Strategic Metals.

"ProLogium is dedicated to creating a green battery industry that helps improve energy and resource efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and promote environmental protection. End-of-life battery recycle and raw materials quality are critical for the battery industry. Cooperation with Elemental completes the last piece of ProLogium's roadmap to secure the entire value chain of EV industry."  said Vincent Yang, CEO and Chairman of ProLogium Technology.

For both companies, the values of eco-responsibility are immensely relevant. The planned cooperation will be an opportunity to positively impact our environment by reducing pollutant emissions and carbon footprint. A crucial element of this cooperation is the potential benefits for customers due to the possible lower cost of production batteries.

Elemental Strategic Metal is a company belonging to the Elemental Holding Group, which is a global leader in the recycling of strategic metals: PGMs, precious metals, and battery metals. The company is currently carrying out a project to build a plant in Poland, where recycled and refined lithium-ion batteries will be for electric vehicles, batteries from laptops, mobile phones, and other devices. The plant is built based on the highest environmental standards, and its goal is to support the responsible management of limited resources in a circular economy by recycling strategically. The announced cooperation with ProLogium was conducted as part of the European program Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI).

ProLogium has been seeking cooperation with strategic partners as part of its efforts to create a robust value chain. Earlier this year, leading international luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz takes a seat on the ProLogium board of directors as a shareholder and concluded a technology cooperation agreement to develop next-generation EV battery cells. Earlier in May, POSCO Holdings made an investment and entered into an agreement with ProLogium for the development and supply of cathode, anode and solid electrolyte materials needed for ProLogium's next-generation solid-state batteries. Earlier in June, FEV, a leading international service provider for hardware and software in vehicle and powertrain development signed an MOU with ProLogium for the development of solid-state battery systems. In October, ACC, a European EV battery cell maker signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join forces in a new strategic partnership with ProLogium to produce EV batteries.

Founded in 2006, ProLogium is an energy innovation firm focused on the R&D and manufacturing of next-generation battery solutions for EV, consumer, and industrial applications. ProLogium is currently the only solid-state battery maker in the world to have demonstrated mass production readiness and capabilities. Its proprietary technologies cover 600 (applied and awarded) patents globally. ProLogium's automated pilot production line has supplied nearly 8,000 solid-state battery sample cells to international automotive OEMs for testing and module development. ProLogium's first gigafactory will go online in 2023 and begin to scale up production in the second half of 2023, which will help accelerate the company's capacity expansions in major markets worldwide.

SOURCE ProLogium Technology