Lead battery recycler Ecobat acquires Promesa with pledge to expand Li-ion recycling business

by John Shepherd
Ecobat president and CEO Jimmy Herring: 'We will continue to expand in the Li-ion battery recycling space.'
Lead-acid battery recycler Ecobat has acquired Promesa – a leading electric vehicle battery recycling operator based in Hettstedt, Germany.

Ecobat president and CEO Jimmy Herring did not disclose financial details of the acquisition, but said the deal makes Ecobat "the only provider in Europe with the capability to offer our customers the full suite of recycling services for lithium-ion batteries, from collecting, discharging and dismantling batteries, to crushing and sorting them and arranging for black mass disposal”.

Herring said: "Building on this acquisition, Ecobat will continue to expand our position in the lithium-ion battery recycling space, with future investment plans under way to increase capacity at our Promesa facility and to build out additional dismantling capabilities across Germany.”

Ecobat said demand for EV Li-ion battery recycling is "accelerating” in Europe and is expected to be worth $4.7bn (£3.4bn) over the next decade.

'Critical markets'

Promesa’s location in the vehicle manufacturing and lithium battery centre of Germany provides "a crucial entry point in one of the most critical markets for battery access and OEM factory scrap”, Ecobat said.

The acquisition also gives Ecobat access to business-critical permits for 3,200 tons of chemical compounds – covering a range of waste materials associated with a variety of battery chemistries – "positioning Ecobat for expansive growth”.

Ecobat has operations in Europe, the US and Southern Africa and is an industry leader in the production of lead, lead alloys, and the recycling of lead batteries. It has 14 smelters across three continents, with an average annual output of 840,000 tons of lead.

The company also has three lithium-focused facilities.

Related articles in our archive: