Heritage Battery Recycling and 6K agreed to produce new cathode material from recycled batteries.
The venture will draw on Heritage’s network to collect, store, and process end-of-life batteries, along with 6K’s plasma technology to manufacture cathode-grade battery materials for applications with high-purity requirements.
Heritage will tap resources from its affiliate, Heritage Environmental Services, as well as its collaboration with Heritage Crystal Clean to build what a press statement said would be a national collection network for sourcing battery feedstock.
Company 6K said its name is derived from the temperature of the surface of the sun, as well as the operating temperature of its production-scale microwave plasma system.
In April, 6K said it would invest $25 million over the next two years to triple the size of its facility in North Andover, Massachusetts, with as many as 10 UniMelt systems dedicated to the full-scale development and pilot production of battery materials. The company said its initial capacity would be on the order of 500 MWh.
Heritage Battery Recycling is a privately held, family-owned business based in Indianapolis.