Primobius, a Germany-based battery recycling company, has received an order from the Mercedes-Benz Group to supply a 10-ton-per-day spoke for installation at Kuppenheim in southern Germany.

Under the agreement, Primobius will create, supply, and install a fully integrated, closed-loop lithium-ion battery-recycling plant. Primobius is in the final stages of front-end engineering work for the recycling plant and anticipates receiving a separate purchase order in September 2023. The installation of the spokes is scheduled to begin in Q4 2023, while commissioning is planned for Q1 2024.

The new facility, located in Kuppenheim, Germany, is expected to have an annual capacity of 2,500 tons and will be used to recover materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which will be reused in the production of a targeted 50,000 battery modules for installation in new Mercedes vehicles.

Analyst QuickTake: For Primobius, the supply agreement marks the first commercial recycling plant supply arrangement with a global electric vehicle OEM, as well as the first significant revenue stream. Primobius initially partnered with LICULAR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG, in March 2022 to license the technology for the Mercedes-Benz Kuppenheim operations in southern Germany. Mercedes-Benz in Kuppenheim laid the foundation stone for its battery recycling factory this March.