Page 152 - CW E-Magazine (27-5-2025)

News from Abroad

COLLABORATION
Vianode and Fortum to jointly develop sustainable

EV battery recycling value chain

Vianode, Norwegian battery mate- the development of low-carbon, high-
rials company, and Fortum Battery performance battery materials.
Recycling, a specialist in recycling
valuable metals from electric vehicle “By recovering valuable and critical
(EV) batteries based in Finland, have graphite from used batteries and return-
signed a Memorandum of Understanding ing it to the cycle as battery-grade mate-
to collaborate on developing a sustain- rial, we help enable the production of new
able EV battery recycling value chain. lithium-ion batteries with a significantly
lower environmental footprint,” said Mr.
Under the agreement, the two com- Tero Holländer, Head of Business Line,
panies will work together to: ble supply chains. Access to recycled Batteries, Fortum Recycling & Waste.
* Secure supplies of high-quality graphite concentrate with potential
recycled graphite concentrate from to scale volumes over time will sup- Vianode recently launched its first
Fortum’s hydrometallurgical plant port Vianode’s ambition to deliver anode material made from recycled bat-
in Harjavalta, Finland. high-quality anode materials with an tery-grade graphite as part of the com-
* Develop and optimise recycled industry-leading CO footprint be- pany’s strategy of creating the world’s
2
graphite materials for use in low 1 kilogram CO e per kilogram most sustainable anode graphite and
2
Vianode’s commercial-scale anode of graphite by 2030,” said Dr. Stefan enable a truly circular North American
production. Bergold, Chief Commercial Officer of and European battery value chain.
* Evaluate and enhance the perfor- Vianode.
mance of recycled graphite in Towards 2030, Europe is expected
advanced battery components. Graphite anode material represents to see a significant increase in battery
the largest component of lithium-ion recycling as the first generation of EVs
“Recycling graphite from end-of- batteries by weight, typically around reaches the end of their life and new
life batteries is vital to reduce depen- 70 kilograms per EV. By integrating EU legislation requires higher recovery
dence on virgin raw materials, lower recycled graphite into its production rates and the use of recycled materials
carbon emissions, and build sustaina- processes, Vianode aims to accelerate in new batteries.

Indorama mulls restarting stalled PET project in US

amid Trump tariffs

Thailand’s Indorama Ventures, the when operational, would have capacity term barriers to imports, especially
world’s top producer of polyethylene to produce 1.1-million tonnes of PET from China, a major PET exporter.
terephthalate (PET), is reviewing plans and 1.3-million tonnes of purified tere-
to resume the construction of a halted phthalic acid (PTA) annually. The company currently produces
US factory worth more than $2-bn as it PET and additional plastic materials in
seeks to benefit from President Donald Originally launched via a joint Thailand, China, the US, Germany and
Trump’s new tariff policy. venture in 2018, the project stalled 27 other countries.
in September 2023 despite $1.7-bn
The company said it may resume already invested. The US and the rest of the Americas
work on an 80%-complete facility in are key markets, accounting for $7.7-bn
Texas initially halted due to cost pres- The remaining $600-mn could be of the company’s $15.54-bn in total
sures and labour shortages. The site, deployed if trade policy signals long- revenue for 2024, according to Indorama.

152 Chemical Weekly May 27, 2025

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