Several companies are planning to deploy lithium-ion battery recycling technology.

Many companies have announced their intention to recycle lithium-ion batteries (LIB) in the United States. Many of these technologies involve hydrometallurgical processes at different stages of development, and their output can play a key role in developing domestic supply chains to support battery manufacturing in North America.

There is a problem with the production of lithium-ion batteries in the United States. Gavin Thompson writes that although President Biden’s administration aims to replace the federal government’s fleet with electric vehicles (EVs) made in the United States that use at least 50% of domestically produced components, China accounts for nearly 75% of the global LIB manufacturing capacity. , The vice chairman of the Asia-Pacific region of Wood Mackenzie, headquartered in the United Kingdom, said in a report released on February 10. As China builds additional manufacturing capacity, China's share of the global LIB market will also increase in the short term.

However, Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture between Seoul-based LG Energy Solution and Detroit-based General Motors Corporation, recently announced that it will help increase the production of LIB in the United States. Ultium announced that it will build two LIB battery manufacturing plants in the United States: the first is being built in Lordstown, Ohio, near a former General Motors assembly plant, which is now home to Lordstown Motor Company, the manufacturer of electric fleet trucks, and the second is It will be built in Spring Hill, Tennessee. These plants will produce lithium-ion batteries for vehicles produced by General Motors. General Motors announced earlier this year that it plans to provide 30 all-electric models worldwide by the middle of the year. By the end of 2025, 40% of its U.S. The model will be battery-electric.

However, such manufacturing investments have not solved another problem related to LIB production: the raw materials used in LIB-lithium, nickel, and cobalt-are mainly produced outside the United States

According to Wood Mackenzie's basic mobile electrification scenario, nickel production needs to increase by nearly 70% by 2040, while cobalt and lithium production needs to increase by 200% and 600%, respectively. Thompson wrote that China has an advantage over the United States in terms of these natural resources, increasing its cobalt resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo and lithium reserves in nickel mines in Chile and Indonesia, adding that China also has global refining of most of these metals. ability.

With this in mind, battery manufacturers are investing to reduce the proportion of cobalt in batteries. He cited the work that GM and LG are doing through Ultium to reduce the use of metal by 70% by increasing the use of aluminum. Thompson wrote that Panasonic and Tesla are also working hard to develop cobalt-free batteries.

In addition, Ultium also announced the establishment of a partnership with recycling company Li-Cycle, which will help Ultium recover raw materials from its manufacturing waste and can release additional supplies of recycled materials.

Aqua Metals is applying its AquaRefining technology to lithium-ion batteries and licensing its process to lead-acid battery recyclers. For more information, please visit www.RecyclingToday.com/article/aqua-metals-new-business-model.

Through Li-Cycle, Ultium Cells will be able to recycle waste battery materials generated during the manufacturing process, including cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, copper, manganese and aluminum. According to a press release issued by General Motors in early May, 95% of the materials can be used in the production of new batteries or in related industries.

Ajay Kochhar, President, CEO and Co-founder of Li-Cycle "Our joint efforts with Ultium Cells will help move battery manufacturing waste from landfills and return large amounts of valuable battery-grade materials back to the battery supply Chain," said in the press release. "This partnership is a key step in advancing our proven lithium-ion resource recovery technology as a more sustainable alternative to mining."

Kochhar told Recycling Today that the amount of waste generated during the LIB manufacturing process ranges from 5% to 10%. Ultium said that the annual production capacity of its two sites will exceed 30 GWh, and there is room for expansion.

Li-Cycle, located in Mississauga, Ontario, was established in 2016 and is adopting a hub-and-spoke approach to LIB recycling. The existing commercial spokes are located in Rochester, New York and Kingston, Ontario. The company is developing its first commercial center in Rochester, where it will use a hydrometallurgical process to recover the black substance produced by its spokes.

Kochhar said that Li-Cycle plans to build 20 spoke facilities and four hubs worldwide in the next five years. The company recently announced the construction of a third spoke in Gilbert, Arizona, within the Phoenix Metro area. Once Gilbert's speech goes live, Li-Cycle will be able to process up to 10,000 metric tons of end-of-life batteries and battery manufacturing waste on site each year, bringing its total recycling capacity to 20,000 metric tons per year, the company said.

"We noticed that we need to be as flexible as possible to adapt to customers," he said. "We must consider expansion flexibly and thoughtfully."

Kochhar has a background in chemical engineering and worked in Hatch, Canada to help develop lithium conversion projects. He said that Li-Cycle's hub-and-spoke model solves the logistics problems related to LIB by dispersing the mechanical processing of the battery nearby. Generators, which are areas where battery manufacturers and electric vehicles use are highly concentrated. He said the company also cooperates with aggregators of end-of-life electronic products. Its spokes produce black substances—a mixture of lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel—as well as mixed aluminum and copper products and plastics.

Kochhar said that under Li-Cycle's business model, each hub will be powered by 12 spokes. He added that the spokes are "very easy to deploy and easy to allow." According to one of the company's patents, these sites use a process involving "water immersion" to smash batteries, which helps to reduce the thermal risk of batteries.

Kochhar said that Li-Cycle’s demonstration plant in Kingston uses a “wet chemical” process to process black matter, which allows the company to recycle lithium carbonate, cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate and manganese carbonate, which can be used to make new batteries or other applications. .

When choosing the location of the Li-Cycle center, he said that access to a good labor pool with knowledge of chemical processing and the ability to plug into existing infrastructure are key considerations. The company plans to break ground on its Rochester hub at the end of 2021, which will be located in the Eastman Business Park (which is also home to its Rochester spokes) and will begin operations at the end of 2022 or early 2023. When fully operational, Kochhar said that the site will employ 120 employees.

He said that with the increase in LIB production in North America, Li-Cycle has the opportunity to cooperate with these manufacturers to develop a true closed-loop recycling solution, in which one unit of lithium returns to the same supply chain.

Boston-based Nth Cycle is exploring charging arrangements with North American mine operators and recyclers to use its electrical extraction technology to recover key metals from scrap batteries and electronics, low-grade ore and mine tailings. The company recently received $3.2 million in funding from investors led by Clean Energy Ventures, also based in Boston.

Megan O'Connor, founder and CEO of Nth Cycle, stated that the company's process uses electricity rather than hydrometallurgy or pyrometallurgy to extract battery materials from black substances.

The Nth Cycle website states that the system is "based on an electrochemically modified filter press that combines filtration and electrowinning into one unit." "This allows operation at low voltage and high current efficiency, significantly reducing energy costs and floor space. In addition, in-situ production reduces the need for highly corrosive chemicals while reducing waste, potential hazards and greenhouse gases emission."

The technology of Nth Cycle was developed in 2017 by PhD students from Harvard University and Yale University. O'Connor said she was a scribe during the Yale Green Electronics Summit, which included speeches from companies such as Apple and Dell. "Recycling keeps coming up," she said. O'Connor said she changed her PhD program to help solve this problem and has been working on commercializing the technology.

The company will use the funds it receives to deploy several pilot projects with recyclers and mine operators early next year. Nth Cycle stated that battery recyclers, operators of existing and proposed mines, automotive original equipment manufacturers, micro-car companies and battery manufacturers are interested in the technology to reduce the need for imported key metals or environmentally unfriendly recycling technologies. Dependence.

O'Connor said that if the Biden government can achieve its vehicle electrification and green energy goals, it will require alternative sources of key metals due to global supply chain issues. Her company's technology can recover these metals from end-of-life products and help North American mines upgrade materials in a cost-competitive manner, "thereby establishing a new supply chain," she said.

O'Connor said that Nth Cycle's technology is modular and has a minimal footprint, but it can hold a large amount of raw materials. A typical unit needs 300 square feet and can handle 500 tons per year.

She said that Nth Cycle's technology generates the least waste. "All by-products can be sold as by-products. Our mission is to create technology that does not generate more waste."

Nth Cycle stated that its technology "can be adjusted to capture various transition metals, rare earths and precious metals." Its metal hydroxides can be sold to hydrometallurgical refineries for reuse in the manufacture of lithium ion cathodes, thereby saving battery-level precursors. The time, cost and resources of physical production.

O'Connor said that Li-Cycle and Redwood Materials, co-founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, are “very focused on the logistics business,” capturing batteries from generators to produce black matter before refining.

However, Nth Cycle's business model focuses on on-site charging processing arrangements with companies that produce black substances or mines. She believes that this approach is "more economical and more sustainable" and eliminates the need for transportation. "Transportation is expensive and dangerous," O'Connor said. "We can go where the battery is."

Dan Goldman, co-founder and managing director of Clean Energy Ventures, stated that the company invested in Nth Cycle because its process is "much more efficient than any battery recycling technology on the market" and "simple and elegant." ". He added that Nth Cycle's process is easily scalable and can handle everything from black matter to mining ore and tailings.

Goldman said that Nth Cycle also "particularly notable" is the company's ability to reduce the vulnerability of the global supply chain. "We have to produce in this country. It creates jobs and economic opportunities and strengthens the supply chain, so we can make things here without having to rely on China and the rest of the world," he said. Goldman Sachs added that manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford and Apple also tend to avoid sourcing from unstable countries that may also use child labor.

Aqua Metals is a McAllen, Nevada-based company that has developed technology to recycle lead-acid batteries. The company stated that it has invested US$2 million in Aqua Metals shares to purchase 10% of LiNiCo Corp. in Nevada. Equity. The company focuses on the recycling of closed-loop lithium-ion batteries.

LiNiCo has an exclusive U.S. license to use technology from Singapore-based Green Li-ion Pte Ltd. LiNiCo also owns 20% of Green Li-ion and is represented on its board of directors.

Green Li-ion stated that its technology can “recover countless types of lithium-ion batteries at one time using only one machine, GLMC-1.”

Green Li-ion stated that the GLMC-1 technology is based on the co-precipitation sequence, which can recover the cathode metal salt without separating the metal elements, "speeding up the recovery process by two to three times." These metal salts are the precursors for the synthesis of new cathode materials and can form the basis of the new LIB.

According to the company, the technology can be used to enhance the existing LIB recycling process, and it can also be used as a stand-alone system for recycling and cathode manufacturing.

LiNiCo said it plans to increase its ownership in Green Li-ion and further develop its own sustainable clean technology. It plans to produce 10,000 metric tons of pure cathodes in the next three years.

Aqua Metals stated that its investment in LiNiCo is part of its strategy to achieve growth by applying the AquaRefining process to LIB recycling.

LiNiCo is leasing part of Aqua Metals' 136,000 square foot facility in McCarran and is offering an additional purchase deposit. "This disposition of non-core assets is due to the company's accelerated focus on its equipment supply and licensing strategy," Aqua Metals said of the lease agreement.

Aqua Metals CEO Steve Cotton said that Green Li-ion's hydrometallurgical technology is a "complement" to Aqua Metals technology. In addition, Aqua Metals has applied for a provisional patent for the use of AquaRefining to recover high-value metals from recycled LIB, saying that early tests showed that its originally developed method for electroplating lead-acid batteries can be used to electroplate high-value metals in lithium-ion batteries. Found in such as cobalt, nickel and manganese.

Cotton stated that LIB has raised "a challenge that no single company can solve alone", which is why it has formed an "ecological network" with LiNiCo, Green Li-ion and Comstock Mining.

LiNiCo President, CEO and Founder Michael Vogel agrees. "It's important for us to form these alliances because they are stronger than single-man bands."

He said that Green Li-ion’s technology “produces higher-grade products, skipping the steps involved in extracting individual battery metals (such as pure lithium, nickel, and cobalt) to produce pure cathodes.” This is part of the battery manufacturing process. Steps are omitted. Using its own process, LiNiCo can also recover individual battery metal salts, providing the company with five possible sources of income.

Vogel said that the LiNiCo process includes four other stages before the material enters the green lithium-ion system. They include crushing LIB; drying and gas purification; a separation process that removes secondary materials such as copper, aluminum, steel, and plastics to separate black substances, and then undergoes additional treatment and purification before being sent to the green lithium-ion system.

He said that the company's goal is to produce 2 tons of cathodes with a purity of 99% per machine per day and to order 20 machines. Within three years, LiNiCo plans to produce 10,000 tons per year. "Every 1,000 tons of batteries will produce about half a ton of cathode material," Vogel said. "We will need 20,000 tons of batteries to produce 10,000 tons of cathodes in a year."

Vogel said that LiNiCo intends to expand its facilities in the United States and may license other technologies, such as AquaRefining.

He said that Comstock Mining Inc., headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada, currently owns 45% of LiNiCo.

Comstock Chairman, Director and CEO Corrado DeGasperis said that the company's stake in LiNiCo is part of its "transitional green shift", which also includes its global mercury restoration and other renewable natural resource projects.

Although Comstock stated that it has always focused on the mining of precious metals and strategic metals, it now believes that “the global transition to clean energy, escalating population growth, and accelerating scarcity of natural resources are converging into a'perfect storm' of global demand. , For a wider range of strategic materials.” Therefore, Comstock’s strategic focus is expanding to include “extracting and evaluating a series of critical and unavoidable scarce materials, and initially preferentially selecting high-cash-throughput generators to supplement us Existing capabilities and operations."

Regarding the ecological network formed by Comstock with LiNiCo, Aqua Metals and Green Li-ion, DeGasperis said: "It feels like we are a company with a common goal. It feels like we have something more cohesive and capable. Will It feels better to put all these resources together."

Although he said that Aqua Metals and LiNiCo are "far ahead" in the race to commercialize LIB recycling, DeGasperis added, "I am not sure that there will be winners and losers in the LIB field" because the quantity of materials will be available. "I want everyone to succeed-I want LiNiCo to be the most successful."

The author is the editor of Recycling Today and can be reached at dtoto@gie.net.

The headquarters of LG Energy Solution was initially mistaken for Taiwan.

Establishing and maintaining close industry relationships helped George Chen and G&T Trading maintain 24 years of development.

George Chen started his career in the waste recycling industry as a fiber purchasing manager for Cheng Loong Corp., a Taiwanese corrugated board manufacturer. He originally worked in Taiwan, but the company sent him to the United States in 1982 to try to find a new American supplier of recycled paper. He said he and his wife Tammy finally settled permanently in New Jersey in 1986.

"I still remember how nervous I was in the first two years in the United States. I came with my wife and we don't know much English. We study together," Chen said. "Fortunately, the boss of my Taiwanese paper industry is very good and decided to let me stay in the United States permanently so that I can concentrate on finding sources of suppliers on the East Coast and West Coast."

Chen retired from Zhenglong in 1997, but his retirement did not last long. In the same year, he decided to take a risk and founded a waste paper brokerage company G&T Trading International Corp. in Clifton, New Jersey. "When I decide to retire, I plan to open G&T Trading immediately," he said. "I love the international trade business. With my 18 years of experience, I have made many friends in the recycling industry who really support me. I think I can build my own company [and] take risks and opportunities."

The waste paper market was not strong in 1997, but Chen said he was confident in his new business. He said that he has the support of many people in the recycling industry, and his wife encouraged him to start a business.

For nearly 25 years, Chen has developed G&T Trading by focusing on exporting waste paper from the east and west coasts. The company mainly deals in old corrugated boxes or OCC; old newspapers, or ONP; mixed paper; and double-layer kraft paper, or DLK.

Chen said that G&T Trading's main end markets are in Southeast Asia, including Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. He added that about five years ago, China had been one of his main end markets, when the country began to impose restrictions on the import of waste paper.

As a trading company with 5 employees that handles more than 4,000 containers (or approximately 100,000 metric tons) for export each year, Chen's team describes G&T Trading as having a “closely integrated, family-oriented environment”.

Service content: Brokerage service of old corrugated boxes, old newspapers, double-line kraft paper, mixed paper, magazines, sorting office paper

“Since we are a small business, we work closely and communicate frequently with each other,” said Sandy Zhang, accounting manager of G&T Trading, who is also Chen's daughter.

Ms. Zhang and her colleagues, Vice President of Operations Lin Bili, and Operations Manager Tina Wayne (also Chen's daughter) all stated that Chen's enthusiasm for the recycling industry was demonstrated through his efforts to develop the company and the industry.

"What makes G&T Trading stand out is, in short, George Chen," Zhang said. "Few people are as passionate about the recycling business as George. He has an attitude that he can do. No one works harder or more loyal than him."

She added, "If you met George, you would know his cowboy hat and costume, his infectious smile and laughter, and his clichés."

Personality aside, Chen said that providing good service helps make his trading company unique. "People know G&T Trading and trust my service," he said. "In addition, I have a very close relationship with the shipping company, so when there is a problem with the shipping company, I still have room. For any challenges in service, my employees will work hard to overcome all problems and do the best job for the company. Help my supplier deliver the paper to the factory."

Building relationships at industry association meetings and events also helps G&T Trading grow and grow. Since the establishment of G&T Trading, Chen said he has been involved in the Paper Industry (PSI) chapter of the Waste Recycling Industry Association (ISRI) in Washington and the New Jersey Paper Recycling Association (NJPRA). Members of these associations say Chen is eager to establish contacts with other professionals.

"When I first met him, he came over and shook my hand and said,'Hi, I'm George Chen. I'm everyone's friend.'" Bill · Lehman (Bill Lehman) said. "This is his mantra when he introduces himself. He is everyone's friend. He is that kind of person."

For most of his career, Chen said he has held leadership positions at PSI and NJPRA.

"[The] business was very difficult at the beginning, so I decided to join ISRI's PSI and the New Jersey Paper Recycling Association to build my business network," he said. "I also volunteered to help these organizations because I studied public relations at Shih Hsin University in Taiwan," Chen added.

His colleagues involved in PSI and NJPRA said that when he held leadership positions in these associations, Chen played an important role in helping to increase the number of members of these two groups. Chen served as president of PSI during the Great Recession from 2008 to 2010.

"In one of the most difficult chapters in PSI history, he was at the helm of PSI," said Kevin Duncombe, president of the California-based West Pacific Pulp and Paper Company. Duncombe also served as President of PSI from 2010 to 2012.

He said that over the years, the leaders of the chapter have worked very hard to educate the industry about changing market conditions. This effort paid off, and Duncome said Chen was able to unite the organization during his presidency and even grow it to 125 members.

"When it was difficult to get anyone to join anything, he increased his membership. George really worked hard and was very successful in persuading people to be a part of something. I mean sincerely—George persevered. ."

From 1997 to 2020, Chen was the president of NJPRA. Lehman Brothers of Waste Management said Chen played an important role in strengthening regional associations during his presidency, regularly organizing speeches and lectures for his members.

He said that the members of the organization "are like feathers on George's hat." "There was a time when the New York Paper Dealers Association was put aside due to insufficient membership, but George played an important role in maintaining the development of the New Jersey faction. We brought many New York members to New Jersey. George was definitely involved in achieving this goal and Keep it running. We ran before COVID and did a good job. [Chen] was able to keep the membership at the original level. We always have 50 to 60 people there."

In addition to helping to improve the membership of industry associations, Duncombe said that in 2009, Chen helped ISRI lobbying against tax incentives for black wine (provided tax credits under the “Alternative Fuel Regulations” of the Highway Act of 2005, aimed at supporting the use of alternative fuels and making Paper mills that use virgin materials benefit and have an economic restraint on paper recycling). He said Chen also helped to update the PSI's charter and grade specifications.

Duncome added: “George will work hard for whatever cause he deems necessary. He is the spokesperson for paper exporters at ISRI meetings.”

Although Chen has retired from his leadership roles in PSI and NJPRA, he is still active in these associations.

In July 2019, he volunteered to join ISRI’s Adina Renee Adler, when she was the Assistant Vice President for International Affairs. At that time, she met with Indonesian government officials, inspection agencies, domestic recyclers and consumers in Jakarta, Indonesia, to better Understand the country’s policies. Waste paper imports and speaks on behalf of the association. By acting as an advocate on this trip, Chen said that he hopes this will help him gain new knowledge about Indonesia's confetti import process and procedures.

"Having this knowledge and understanding will help me better participate in Indonesia's international trade," Chen said.

When Chen and Adler went to Indonesia, the country recently revised its waste paper import standards.

"The government wants to instruct pre-shipment inspection companies to inspect the 0.5% prohibition tolerance of materials," Adler said. "At the time, Indonesia could only source 40% to 45% of recycled fiber domestically, so they relied heavily on international purchases to meet demand."

Adler and Chen met with officials to encourage Indonesian government officials to use ISRI's waste specifications as a guide for importing pollutants and residues in recycled fibers, and to review the impact of the country's proposed strict pollution policy. During the conversation, Adler said that she provided ISRI's views to officials and Chen provided his trading expertise.

"George played an important role in providing technical insights on the infeasibility of the proposed inspection system, while also pointing out the Indonesian market's demand for high-quality materials processed in the United States," Adler said. "We discussed all the issues in the recycled fiber trade. With questions about understanding the market, George will speak out and talk about reality. He talked about the unique issues of the pre-shipment inspection process and cargo loading. I am very happy to have him there. "

As of June 2020, Indonesia has confirmed that the pollution tolerance for all waste imports is 2%, and ISRI has marked it as a victory for the industry.

Adler, who is currently the Vice President of Publicity at ISRI, said that she thanked Chen for his support in his efforts to promote the views of the U.S. waste recycling industry to Indonesian officials.

"I study with the help of [ISRI] members," she said. "George supports our industry as an advocate and ensures that the team is also well-educated. This is his role in the meeting."

"I think this was a very successful trip because it allowed me to show all the new information to members of the paper recycling industry," Chen said.

Chen said that he is optimistic about the opportunity to expand G&T Trading this year. He said that until 2021, the recycled paper market in Southeast Asia has been strong, especially OCC.

"Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam have a strong demand for OCC and other recycled paper," Chen said.

But as of mid-May, the export market is also facing challenges. Chen said that he temporarily described the export market as a "buyer's market." He said that due to the pandemic, India has reduced its purchases of waste paper in recent weeks. With the Ramadan holidays in late April and May, Indonesia has also slowed down the pace of purchases.

In addition, it is very difficult to ensure maritime transport this year. Chen said that many shipping companies continue to reduce recycled paper bookings, and ships have been delayed. Despite the current situation, he said he is not too pessimistic about overseas transportation.

“Due to our long-term partnership with many shipping companies, G&T still continues to receive their support, but the number of bookings in May is limited. Sometimes I still need to call the shipping company’s sales staff for help,” Chen said. "COVID-19 [has been] very challenging for G&T Trading. But we are trying to control stable and very regular shipments to all countries."

He continued, “Now, G&T’s main job is to maintain regular tonnage passes and maintain a good relationship with shipping companies. We will continue to do this in 2021 and 2022, and we will strive for the recycled paper in each country/region. More market share."

The author is the executive editor of Recycling Today and can be reached at msmalley@gie.net.

Nickel and stainless steel are losing some markets and gaining new markets at the same time, but the path varies from continent to continent.

The phrase "it's complicated" can be applied to many efforts in the scrap steel industry, but perhaps the most important example relates to the collection, sorting, and marketing of stainless steel and other nickel-containing alloys.

Manufacturers and recyclers of this expanded metal family have long used the adjective "professional" as a descriptive word. According to a speech at the ISRI2021 online conference hosted by the Waste Recycling Industry Association (ISRI) in Washington in late April, this specialization is expected to continue.

Two stainless steel and nickel industry analysts who spoke on the ISRI2021 Nickel and Stainless Steel Spotlight described that the stainless steel market in China is very different from the production methods in most other regions of the world. In addition, they said that if the global electric vehicle (EV) revolution accelerates, the application of nickel, stainless steel and specialty alloys may face completely different prospects.

China produces about half of the world's stainless steel, but due to the production methods decided by its mass producers, China imports very few other stainless steel scraps from the world.

Stainless steel in China is mainly made by melting nickel pig iron (NPI), which is made from ore most commonly mined in Indonesia, the Philippines, and other nearby countries. When it comes to scrap usage in major stainless steel manufacturing countries, Markus Moll of Austrian Steel and Metals Market Research GmbH (SMR) stated that there are “two worlds”.

Although China uses less than 25% of scrap steel as raw material due to its dependence on NPI, in European stainless steel production, scrap steel carries 70% to 75% of the metal load. At the same time, the United States and India can consume up to 80% of waste in their stainless steel production. In the United States, this is because of the electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, and in India, it is because of the induction furnace method.

The result of US scrap processors and exporters is that even before the Chinese government introduced quotas and restrictions in 2019, the export volume of stainless steel scrap was not the same as aluminum or copper scrap.

According to Moll, in 2020, “11% of stainless steel scrap will be consumed in different continents”. Common trade patterns include Russia and some of its neighbors supplying waste to Western Europe, while the United States mainly ships waste to Western European and Asian countries, including India, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Of the stainless steel scrap produced last year, Moll estimates that 36% is waste scrap, 32% is main scrap or factory waste, 23% is reduced waste that never leaves the smelting plant, and 9% is sold as mixed scrap, making its source change. It has to be difficult to determine.

With the North American Stainless Steel Company and other producers in Ghent, Kentucky, whose production has returned to levels before the COVID-19-related downturn, the demand for nickel-containing scrap in the United States has been increasing.

In terms of scrap export, it is not clear whether US West Coast recyclers can start receiving inquiries from Chinese steel mills, as China has approved the import of three grades of stainless steel scrap in 2021.

Although scrap prices may not always reflect this, Mohr said there is a “need for higher quality scrap supply” as stainless steel producers and manufacturers using stainless steel seek a lower carbon footprint.

Although better scale pricing can obtain some additional stainless steel scrap (or prevent it from mixing with carbon steel scrap), Moll said that in the future it may also lead to the production of "green ferroalloys" similar to hot briquette iron (HBI) and direct reduction Iron (DRI) is made for the carbon steel industry.

The transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EV) appears to be gaining momentum globally, which will create winners and losers in the nickel and stainless steel industries.

There are more reports on the nickel content in electric vehicle batteries than there are several other reports on how nickel or stainless steel might develop if ICE vehicle production declines. SMR's forecast shows that in the next five years, the demand for stainless steel in the transportation sector will decline.

"This is obviously a problem with electric vehicles," Moore said. "If you look at today's cars, the stainless steel of an ordinary passenger car weighs about 40 kg (88 lb). Of this, 30 kg (66 lb) is the exhaust system. Other applications include fuel lines and engine valves, cylinders Cover gaskets-all these applications rely on internal combustion engines."

*Average monthly settlement price per metric ton, cash buyer; Source: London Metal Exchange, www.lme.com

He added: “So in an electric car, you still have hose clamps and trim parts, but it may only be 20% of an internal combustion engine car.”

Moll said that he believes that the future of hybrid vehicles is not particularly bright because it retains some stainless steel components, saying that the hybrid system is "just a bridge technology." In five years, [EV] batteries will be very good, and no one needs a hybrid car. In 10 years, no one will [buy] a hybrid car. "

When attention shifts to ships, trucks, buses, and heavy vehicles that use larger batteries, the alternative energy market is good news for stainless steel producers. The casing of these batteries is usually made of stainless steel.

Alina Racu, another Moll host and Nornickel market analyst in Switzerland, said that global electric vehicle sales rebounded in the second half of 2020, with Europe and China being the “growth centers”, while North America showed moderate growth. Laku said that global data shows that the development of electric vehicles is strong, with a year-on-year growth of 26% in 2020 compared to 2019, and sales in December 2020 increased by 78% compared to December 2019.

She cited legislation and stimulus plans as one of the driving factors for the shift to electric vehicles. Although Europe and its green agreement point out the intentions of the continent, whether Joe Biden and his "rebuild better" plan or clean (our country’s climate leadership and environmental actions) future bills can pass some electrification in the US Congress It remains to be seen whether the incentives are intact.

The increase in electric vehicle sales is just one aspect of the potential “decarbonization” effort related to the Paris Agreement and its target date for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Moll and Racu refer to national and global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as factors that seem to be about to change the hemisphere model of the duel.

Moll said that stainless steel is made of main materials, such as in China, the ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced is 4.3:1. This is in contrast to the 1.1:1 ratio that belongs to waste production. He said that the European Green Agreement and other policies formulated in response to the "Paris Agreement" are leading to a "border adjustment mechanism to prevent carbon dioxide leakage."

Racu said that the conversion process often used by Chinese companies to produce nickel with sufficient purity for use in electric vehicle batteries also has problems with the production of large amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Like stainless steel production, nickel refining methods are also affected by corporate goals and government requirements. "Although there are multiple sources of nickel supply, their use in the battery industry will depend on compliance with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards," she said. "Western [OEMs] may give priority to nickel that meets ESG standards over alternatives with a high carbon footprint," Lacu added.

In terms of batteries, she predicts that China-made low-nickel lithium iron phosphate batteries will not outperform emerging and upgraded nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries or other lithium-ion configurations being used around the world.

To what extent do scrap recyclers hope to participate in the recovery of nickel and other metals from these emerging batteries? The answer may depend on whether electric car manufacturers insist on using closed-loop systems for their batteries. Reusing or finding a second use for electric vehicle batteries may also disrupt the collection.

Racu stated that it is difficult to predict how electric vehicle battery recycling will take place, partly because the current number of such scrap batteries is "very small" and electric vehicle recycling is "in a very early stage."

However, she showed three different scenarios related to the sales level of electric vehicles, the percentage of re-used batteries, and the collection rate. In the most radical case, electric vehicle battery manufacturers may reach the point where 42% to 49% of nickel in new batteries is composed of recyclable nickel. However, in other cases, this percentage is in the more moderate range of 12% to 21%.

How the electric vehicle market affects the demand for nickel and stainless steel is just another fault line, which may lead to the end of some scrap flows and the production of new scrap.

The author is a senior editor of Recycling Today Media Group and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net.

The Scrap University aims to provide the industry with consistent education on metal classification.

Waste recycling is not the content of the school's teaching, and no major university offers waste processing and trade majors. Many industry professionals have either grown up in the industry or learned on the job.

Brad Rudover is a partner of Vancouver Detroit Scrap Consulting Services Ltd. He grew up in this industry. His family owns Berwick Trading Company, a scrapyard in Detroit.

"I spent a lot of time there but never got paid. [My] dad would teach me something, but he couldn't explain to me the difference between No. 1 and No. 2, honey and ebony," Rudover said . "So, I have to teach myself all my life."

On the other hand, Kate Fraser entered the waste industry while working for ABC Recycling, which has an office in British Columbia as an office administrator. She knows nothing about this industry.

"I started trying to assemble a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system for the company in this industry, and I quickly realized,'How do I get training?' There is no training," she said. "I'm asking the CEO or someone else,'What is this?' You will get different answers to similar things. It's frustrating and confusing."

Rudover and Fraser met while working at the Richmond Steel Recycling Company in British Columbia in the mid-2010s. Rudover is the company's non-ferrous metals manager, and Fraser is the operations analyst and facility manager. Both recognize that scrap recyclers have different answers on how to sort different commodities.

"We realized there was nowhere to go," Fraser said of the metal recognition training. "I will go to ISRI's website and its specification documents, but it is not helpful for training people who work in the yard."

In 2020, Rudover decided to cooperate with Fraser to provide a training tool that scrap processors can use to continuously train employees to classify goods, which would be a good idea. Rudover and Fraser had left Richmond Steel Recycling and worked for different companies, but they both believed that now is a good time to develop a resource that processors can use to train everyone from workers to managers.

"I have been thinking about this idea for several years. As early as February of last year, I contacted Kate because she has the knowledge of waste products and the right combination of skills to make the project go smoothly," Rudolph added. "With the arrival of the pandemic, it allows us to focus on building the curriculum and blocking everything else."

By the fall of 2020, they launched Scrap University as a resource for processors to educate their employees in a virtual way.

Rudover and Fraser stated that they will spend most of 2020 shooting educational videos for the Scrap University of Rypac Metal Recycling Company in Surrey, British Columbia.

"My mentor, friend, and Scrap University professor Craig Merritt allowed us to shoot in his yard," Rudover said. "He has been an advocate for Scrap University from the beginning. We go to the yard three to four times a week and shoot videos to make courses."

To date, Scrap University offers a program, the Certified Scrap Metal Professional (CSMP), which consists of multiple courses.

The first course of the program is the location of scrap yards, reviewing ferrous and non-ferrous metals; basic knowledge of operations, such as measurement units, scale types and weights, personal protective equipment, unloading, forklifts and material handlers; and weighing and weight reduction , Purchase price and basic knowledge of the type of software used in the industry. After the training, the program will guide students to identify specific metal commodities: tin, remelted steel, cast iron, bushels, manganese, 6061 aluminum, zorba, twitch, honey, ebony, 2205 stainless steel, etc.

Fraser said that each course has a video showing the material in the actual scrapyard, text describing the product, and the actual code for the specific product from the Waste Recycling Industry Association (ISRI). She said she hopes this course will help link the formal ISRI codes with the street terminology used for different commodities.

"When you export something, you often use ISRI codes. But when you are in the yard, no one knows what a'tutu' is, for example," she said. "So, in our plan, we are trying to break both sides. We want to pay tribute to ISRI because they created terms such as "darth" or "vader". Most people who are in scrapyards or who bring waste do not use "darth" The word, but if you say "ballast", it is "darth", if you say "sealing device", it is "vader."

Rudover and Fraser are not the only teachers providing education through the platform. Rudover said that Scrap University has other "professors" from the industry sharing their insights.

He said that Jennifer Betts of London-based Argus Media teaches some courses on ferrous scrap, and Nick Snyder of Union Metal Recycling Company in Caldwell, Idaho teaches courses on brass and copper scrap.

Betts is the vice president of business development for the metals division of Argus Media. She started in the scrap industry 15 years ago at David J. Joseph Co. in Cincinnati. She said that she had business dealings with Rudover in the past and was happy to provide her knowledge in the industry for training purposes.

"There are no courses in this industry—you basically have to work in the yard or trading company and learn from your colleagues. There is no course where you can learn how to...recognize waste," Bates said.

She continued, "I think this idea is really interesting. I think it is very useful for educating the next generation or new employees."

Since its launch last year, several scrap processors have recruited employees at Scrap University.

Chad Sutter, owner of Sutter Metals in Tacoma, Washington, said he started using Scrap University as part of the onboarding process for new employees earlier this year. The company operates a scrap yard and two feed yards in the Puget Sound area and has a team of 55 employees.

Sartre said recruitment and training have been challenging in recent years. He said that hiring people with experience in the scrap industry is not always feasible, so he hopes to use scrap universities to help new employees outside the industry learn faster.

"Especially in our area, the Pacific Northwest, given the climate here, it is very challenging for people to work in our yard or warehouse," Sartre said. "It's not like California-300 days a year, sunny, 70 degrees. Here, let someone have a potential yard location or warehouse location, 160 days of the year may be bad weather, this is a big event . Our applicant pool has shrunk sharply. In order to keep the facility running, onboarding is an important part of our work with employees.

He continued, “If you go to the scrapyard on the first day and have no idea what you are doing, you will need to spend two to three months for an internship before you start sorting and making factory specification packages. [Course] helps solve quality problems. I am not saying that employees do not need a job shadow, but it is cost-effective for us and reduces training time by two-thirds."

Sutter added that the courses at Scrap University also allowed him and his longer-term employees to study.

Fraser added that Scrap University’s CSMP program “applies to everyone in the scrap industry”.

"We have a colleague who owns a business who reached out to help, but he didn't have time to train his employees," she said. "This is a small business. He wanted to pass [the plan] because he stumbled on the scrap business. He was making money, but he realized that he was not doing his best because he didn't know all the metal classifications. He participated by himself. [Course]. Now, he can also train employees and delegate work with confidence."

Looking to the future, Rudover said that he hopes to develop more projects and courses for Scrap University. He also hopes that industry associations such as the Canadian Recycling Industry Association or ISRI will provide the program to members.

However, his overall goal is for the industry to have an official certificate of waste recycling knowledge.

Rudover said that many industries have certificates or licenses, such as certified public accountants, while other industries have formal university courses that grant degrees. "The scrap business is one of the only businesses without a degree," he said.

"Our program has now created a'thing'. On the back of your title or at the end of your name, you can put'CSMP'." By providing this information, we have raised the industry standard. You will be more educated, more diligent and more efficient," he continued.

"We are now starting to see CSMP in the signatures of some graduates."

The author is the executive editor of Recycling Today and can be reached at msmalley@gie.net.

Senior editor Brian Taylor talks with the people who know the industry best.

For decades, Proler's name has been one of the most recognized last names in the waste recycling industry. Nevertheless, Jackie Proler, Becky Proler's father, did not expect that she would work in this industry when she grew up.

Proler spent most of her career in the field of psychology (she obtained a master's degree in counseling psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia), but her father did eventually offer her a job in the selection of parts business at the family company . Proler was living on the East Coast at the time, and she said her father wanted her to return to Houston, so he gave her the opportunity to manage that department in the 1980s.

Today, Proler co-owns Southern Core Recycling in Houston. She and her business partners Alan and Carol Walker founded the company in 1989. As the core automotive industry changes, Southern Core has reinvented itself as a full-service scrap company specializing in castings and aluminum and other forms of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap.

Proler shared some of her experience in the scrap industry in the subsequent edited Q&A.

Answer: I understand why people ask this question. But the answer is, for me, that's it. I cannot change my gender, just like I cannot change my last name. I think the industry is beginning to become more aware of women owning, operating, or holding leadership positions. Even in some large companies, you have [women] in leadership positions. [Commercial Metal Company] There is a female president. Umicore has a female senior vice president. There is a woman on OmniSource's board of directors. Schnitzer Steel has a female president.

As a woman in the scrap metal industry, I feel very comfortable. It's not easy, but having said that, I don't know what is easy. But I do think that our national trade association ISRI has done a very good job of nurturing and supporting this gender issue. We now have a recycling women's organization. I think this is a good group and will provide guidance.

A: My uncles Sammy, Izzy, and [Herman] "Hymie" and my father were able to develop and innovate a process to actually determine the size of the material so that you can get the material that the factory doesn't want. This is revolutionary.

My uncle Hymie Proler passed away last year, just before the COVID. I can speak at his funeral. One thing I said to people [at the funeral] was, "You know, the chair you sit on, the metal on these chairs may be recycled. It went through a process where someone we pay tribute to help develop, and The car or Uber you attended the funeral today may have been torn apart by the original Prolerizer." So, I am very proud of it. When your family sets the standard so high, it is difficult for you to overcome this pressure.

Answer: Well, I know the development direction of electric vehicles, I think this is a natural development process. We must consider other ways-the greenhouse effect is definitely a problem. Even people in the oil industry admit this. So the question is: What is the best way to advance our technology and maintain the balance that people are used to seeing?

When it comes to recycling, you must remember that we see end-of-life vehicles. People are always paying great attention to manufacturing and proposing new methods and ideas for using energy to make cars lighter-this is why we now use aluminum bodies instead of steel ones.

The biggest challenge is how do we care about the end of life? Because we are now starting to see this in the supply chain. These hybrid cars with batteries, all these cars are now beginning to enter our field. How we deal with them is a worrying matter. ...We will install lithium batteries in these cars.

In fact, a Tesla caught fire in Houston two weeks ago. The fire department spent 30,000 gallons of water to put out the fire. Therefore, these things are related to the manufacturer. I know that their main focus is to make vehicles. But, in the end, you must deal with the end of life.

This is what I care about. When this material reaches an unusable level, what should we do? I am happy to deal with this problem. But I'm not sure if we are advanced enough to know how to innovate.

"The Scrap Show" is a podcast hosted by Brian Taylor, senior editor of Recycling Today Media Group. To listen to this series of podcasts and other podcasts, please visit www.RecyclingToday.com/videos/category/podcasts.