GEM pivots from battery recycler to battery materials supplier for leading cell manufacturer CATL

March 22, 2019 | Case Study

GEM is a major materials recycling player in China. The company has facilities to recycle plastics, consumer electronics and e-waste, and more recently, batteries. The company claims that its hydrometallurgical recycling facilities already process 10% of China's consumer batteries, with a capacity for 300,000 tons of batteries and nickel-cobalt alloys (from pyrometallurgical recycling facilities like Umicore's). GEM's facilities can process a number of battery types, from conventional primary alkaline batteries to rechargeable Li-ion batteries, and from these waste streams can produce a variety of products: cobalt oxide, nickel-manganese-cobalt hydroxide (precursors to NMC cathodes), copper, and aluminum.