Lohum Cleantech Ltd., one of the leading producers of sustainable critical minerals in India, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ReElement Technologies Corp. and American Metals LLC to establish a joint venture company focused on building a fully integrated battery recycling ecosystem in the US, American Resources Corp., the parent company of American Metals, announced Sept. 26.

The new JV company plans to set up a battery recycling, repurposing and critical material production facility in the US with an annual capacity to 15.5 GWh. The said facility will be built with an initial investment of $30 million and will lead to the creation of 250 green jobs, the company said, adding that the partnership is expected to initially supply recycled materials for more than 315,000 electric vehicles annually with continued growth based on feedstock availability.

It further said that the integrated end-to-end battery and critical minerals life-cycle management facility is expected to host the entire value chain from battery cell testing and segregation for second-life energy storage applications to recycling, mineral refining, engineered materials and battery-grade products. The facility will produce critical materials with purity levels greater than 99.5%, which can then circulate in the US domestic battery ecosystem, American Resources Corp. said in its press note.

The initial operating location will be at the Marion Advanced Technology Center in Indiana, US, and will expand to other locations as determined by the JV parties. The JV will create a domestic ecosystem of recycled, high-purity lithium for developing North America's lithium-based battery manufacturing supply chain.

The planned recycling plant that will be built by Lohum’s and ReElement's capabilities is expected to be able to eliminate a significant amount of capital expenditure, physical footprint, environmental impact and associated operational expenditure needed for the separation and purification of battery materials, it said.

Commenting on the new MOU, Rajat Verma, founder and CEO of Lohum, said, “As Lohum expands its presence in North America, we welcome this opportunity to partner with ReElement and American Metals, companies that share Lohum’s goals of making battery materials last forever. We believe the JV will be instrumental in building resilient critical material supply chains in the US that can sustain themselves through circularity. This is an inspiring development in U.S.-India technology collaboration through market entities.”

Mark Jensen, chairman of American Metals and ReElement Technologies, said, “We have been working with Lohum to figure out how to leverage our unique capabilities and world-leading technologies at ReElement along with the innovative and scaled up approach to critical mineral's recycling and refining that Lohum has established. We are pleased that ReElement and Lohum are partnering in a JV to leverage both ReElement's and Lohum’s vast experience in fully recycling lithium-ion batteries.”