Technology Minerals shares gained 4.7% to 2.2p in late morning trading on Monday after its 49%-owned battery recycling group Recyclus received ABTO status from the Environmental Agency for its recycling site in Tipton, West Midlands.
The approval means Technology Minerals has received the green light to immediately kick off manual recycling operations at its lead-acid facility.
The company said Recyclus was authorised to produce up to 15,000 MT per year of lead and store up to 300 MT of inbound stock at any one time on site, under ABTO status.
Technology Minerals confirmed the new authorisation marked the start of phase one for its recycling operations, which will shift to a fully-automated recycling process in phase two later in 2022 after the receipt of the variation licence.
The Recyclus system breaks down and recycles batteries into their constituent parts, to ensure the recovery of acid, lead and plastic materials.
The components are subsequently reused in a variety of industries, such as hard lead used in grids, soft lead used for battery paste and sulphuric acid used for agricultural purposes in fertilisers.
“We are delighted to have our ABTO status confirmed by the Environmental Agency, so we can kick-start recycling operations, close deals in the pipeline, and start generating revenues from this site. Once fully operational, the Tipton plant positions us to become one of the leading accredited battery recyclers internationally.,” said Technology Minerals chairman Robin Brundle.
“The lead-acid battery recycling industry is currently a major polluter, with over 18,000 tonnes of spent batteries incinerated or sent to landfill each year in the UK alone. It is vital that companies look to strip back ‘greenwashing’ and promote homegrown waste management solutions if the UK is to achieve its COP26 net zero targets.”
“Our operations will help to divert waste from landfill, enabling key resources to be kept in use for longer, minimising waste and reducing the environmental impacts of spent batteries. These efforts underscore our commitment to developing a truly circular economy for battery metals that will help propel the green transition and meet the net zero 2050 targets. We look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming weeks and months.”
