Aqua Metals, a Nevada-based listed metal recycler, has partnered with 6K Energy, a leading producer of sustainable materials for lithium-ion batteries, to develop low-carbon battery materials and establish a long-term agreement for 6K Energy’s PlusCAM cathode material manufacturing plant.

The partnership was initiated with a non-recurring engineering (NRE) agreement to develop low-carbon technology for converting critical metals into battery-grade cathode active material (CAM) precursors, which are crucial to 6K Energy's advanced cathode manufacturing process. As part of the agreement, 6K Energy will fund the low-carbon precursor cathode active material (pCAM) conversion project in 2023, and the successful completion of the development project will result in a long-term supply agreement between the two companies.

6K Energy has been awarded a USD 50 million grant from the Department of Energy to partially fund the PlusCAM factory, worth over USD 200 million in Jackson, Tennessee, which is scheduled to open in 2025. The factory will use Aqua Metals' patented AquaRefining technology to convert both virgin materials and sustainably recycled content. 

The two companies have plans to co-locate pCAM manufacturing with 6K Energy's PlusCAM factory, which will have a production capacity of 13,000 tons per annum and will be the world's first UniMelt plasma cathode manufacturing plant.

Analyst QuickTake: Aqua Metals has been partnering with companies to expand the reach of its AquaRefining technology and strengthen its presence in both the lead-acid and lithium-ion battery recycling industries. The company signed its first licensing agreement with ACME Metal Enterprises and entered the lithium-ion battery recycling space with LINICO (November 2021). Mid-last year, Aqua also partnered with Dragonfly Energy Corporation to supply lithium hydroxide produced from its Li-AquaRefining process.