NAN GreenMet forms JV with Belgiums Silox for battery recycling

Mumbai, Jun 18 (PTI) Vedanta vice chairman Navin Agarwal-founded tech-led manufacturing platform NAN GreenMet on Thursday announced forming a 50:50 joint venture with Belgium-headquartered Silox for building a Li-ion battery recycling and critical mineral recovery facility in Andhra Pradesh.

The project is expected to be developed in two phases, ultimately targeting a total capacity of up to 40,000 mtpa for spent battery shredding and 20,000 tonnes per annum for hydrometallurgical processing, the company said in a statement.

The joint venture, NAN Silox GreenMet, will also explore downstream value creation, including cathode active materials and second-life battery applications for stationary energy storage systems.

The land and incentives for

the facility are already in place, it said.

Silox is a global leader in hydrometallurgical processing of non-ferrous metal residues.

Under the JV, the partnership will develop and operate an industrial facility to process spent batteries through shredding, beneficiation and hydrometallurgical refining, enabling the recovery of strategic materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, the statement noted.

This development responds to the rapid growth of the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors and the increasing need for secure, sustainable and local sources of critical raw materials, the statement added.

India imports most of its battery-grade critical minerals – lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese – which is a structural vulnerability at the heart of its EV and clean energy supply chain.

The JV transforms the growing end-of-life battery stream from EVs, electronics and energy storage into a domestic, circular, sovereign capability, it said.

Silox brings over four decades of industrial-scale hydrometallurgical expertise in non-ferrous metal recovery and its Indian entity, Silox Specialties India, has developed and validated a proprietary process for battery-grade lithium, cobalt and nickel recovery at pilot scale in the country, the statement said.

As per the statement, this is not first-generation technology. It is a proven process being deployed at a new order of magnitude, combined with NAN GreenMet’s industrial execution, access to capital and deep policy relationships.

“Every spent battery is a domestic resource of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese that today leaves India’s supply chain forever. NAN Silox GreenMet changes that: Europe’s most proven hydrometallurgical technology at the scale India’s clean energy transition demands. This is circular economy infrastructure for Viksit Bharat,” said Navin Agarwal, Founder & Chairman, NAN GreenMet Pvt. Ltd.

“This joint venture fully aligns with Silox’s strategy to close the loop on critical metals through advanced recycling solutions. We are convinced that India will play a key role in the global battery ecosystem, and we are proud to contribute to its development. NAN GreenMet gives us the execution platform and scale to make this India’s defining critical minerals recycling platform,” said J C Bogaert, Chairman, Silox Group. PTI IAS SHM SHM