The metals needed to manufacture batteries come mainly from Asia, Africa and Australia. Their extraction not only poses environmental and societal challenges, but also leads to resource scarcity, putting increasing pressure on the market. To ensure a sustainable energy transition, it is essential that Europe can secure supplies of these strategic metals. Fortunately, these metals, although scarce in our territories, are recyclable.
It is therefore essential to recover them:
1
Our innovative chemistry is distinguished by its respect for the environment. Unlike traditional processes, we operate in a basic environment, without the use of acids, and use an ammonia route with few inputs. The selective extraction of metals is based on the properties ofCO2, which enables us to produce carbonates rather than sulfates. In this way, we generate little effluent and avoid reprocessing, contributing to a cleaner, more efficient recycling process.
No acids
CO²
chemistry
Carbonates
No effluent
(to be reprocessed on site)
2
Thanks to our innovative, zero-effluent process, our units are both compact and agile. This allows us to be located as close as possible to waste deposits, or even directly on site to recycle the battery production waste from the gigafactory.
This agility allows us to adapt to different waste volumes, and integrate into any ecosystem in a logic of resource circularity.
3
We are structuring an ecosystem based on the circular economy and rooted in the regions. By bringing together key expertise across the entire value chain, we are building a sustainable, competitive industry to support decarbonization.
The different players in the value chain
The technological building blocks we develop with our partners
The second
life of batteries
Waste handled
and treated
By 2029, our Béthune site will be :
25 000
metric tonnes
of end-of-life batteries
processed per year
8 000
metric tonnes
of metals produced
per year
100
jobs created
Any innovation, no matter how promising, is only valuable if it is adapted to industrial and regional realities. We develop high-performance solutions, optimised for large-scale use and adapted to market requirements.
Sustainability is essential to our developments. Our technologies must minimise their environmental impact in order to be part of a more responsible industry that serves present and future generations.
Our eco²efficiency approach balances these two requirements to accelerate the transition to competitive and sustainable recycling of strategic metals.
Build a circular and virtuous industryfor the production of strategic metals to meet the
technological needs of future generations.