Glencore announces plans for construction of a battery recycling plant outside Italy

In a strategic move, Glencore, the Swiss mining group, revealed its decision to construct a pilot project for an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling plant outside of Italy. The company, however, maintains its interest in establishing a larger facility on the island of Sardinia, as stated on Thursday, 23 November 2023.

Glencore clarified that relocating the testing and demonstration plant away from Portovesme in Sardinia was aimed at expediting the commissioning of the project. Initially, in May 2023, Glencore announced plans to collaborate with Canada's Li-Cycle in Portovesme to create a recycling hub. This hub would produce lithium and other materials from the shredded components of used car batteries, commonly referred to as "black mass."

The decision to move the testing and demonstration phase away from Sardinia followed the island's regional government's refusal to expedite the environmental impact assessment. Glencore emphasized that this change does not immediately affect the feasibility assessment of the larger hub project, which is still focused on Portovesme.

Glencore stated that the definite feasibility study was ongoing and remained focused on Portovesme. They emphasized that the initiative was important for their recycling strategy and aligned with Italy's objectives for sustainable industry development.

Although the exact location for the pilot plant was not specified by the Swiss group, Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Thursday, 23 November 2023, that several countries in both Europe and North America were under consideration as alternative sites.

In a letter addressed to Italy's environment and industry ministries, Glencore's Sardinian unit expressed hope that new European Union regulations on critical raw materials for decarbonization could expedite the permitting process for the larger hub project. Glencore emphasized that they deemed it crucial to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the ministries represented, intending to discuss the ways in which the forthcoming Critical Raw Materials Act could ensure certainty and expediency in the authorization procedure for the Hub Project.

Glencore confirmed its commitment to proceed with the restructuring of its existing industrial activities in Portovesme. However, the CGIL, CISL, and UIL labor unions criticized the lack of firm deadlines for the environmental assessment procedure for the pilot plant. They urged Italian authorities to abandon what they termed an "attitude of distrust" towards the hub project in Sardinia.