European Lithium Limited, West Leederville, Australia, (ASX:EUR, FRA:PF8) has announced that its 100% owned subsidiary, ECM Lithium AT GmbH, Wolfsberg, Austria, the operating arm of European Lithium, is to become the industrial partner for a research project developing closed loop recycling for lithium-ion batteries, managed by a research group at the University of Graz in Austria.
The Company is in the final stages of a resource extension drilling program at its advanced Wolfsberg Lithium Project and the finalisation of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) that includes the metallurgical analysis of the proposed production process. In an effort to fast track the development of Wolfsberg the Company has taken advantage of an opportunity to refine its metallurgical analysis in a purpose built full scale pilot plant in Hirschau, Germany.
European Lithium aims to be the first operational European producer of lithium products for supply to the domestic battery market. To meet estimated demand for battery grade lithium in the future, and meet the need for sustainable green operations, it is crucial to ensure that EV batteries are recycled. The Company considers there to be a logical connection between recycling and mining in the form of closed loop recycling.
Dietrich Wanke, CEO, commented on the strategic partnership “It is a pleasure to be chosen as partner to this research project and with our knowledge regarding the chemical, technical and metallurgical procedures, it becomes an important strategic step to support the development of Wolfsberg. Furthermore, we are looking forward to working on a collaboration that is aligned with the ambitious European Green Deal targets for lithium-ion batteries. We are very pleased to support the research project’s and are very confident of its success.”
The Company’s current drilling program and final metallurgical test work remains on track to complete in July and is still under our original budget.