Portugal's first lithium battery recycling plant opens in Braga

Braga is now home to Portugal's first lithium battery and cell recycling plant, run by b.again, part of the dst group. The facility can process up to 7,000 tonnes a year, using dry mechanical shredding to recover over 95% of materials, producing around 3,500 tonnes of 'black mass' containing lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite. That material still needs refining abroad, in France, though local refining is expected in the short to medium term. The plant employs 23 people and began operating in March, having already received about 500 tonnes of material.