Worcestershire's Slicker Recycling announces ground-breaking battery recycling partnership

National waste management provider Slicker Recycling has announced it has signed an environmentally-driven partnership agreement which will see a huge uplift in the recycling of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.

The Worcestershire headquartered company, which specialises in the recycling and treatment of waste lubricating oils from the automotive sector, has penned the deal with fellow UK firm Technology Minerals – meeting the growth plans for both businesses as they work to carve out a circular economy model for the UK battery market.

Under the agreement, Slicker Recycling will salvage battery waste from sites across the UK and transport the materials to plants owned and operated by battery recycling firm Recyclus, which is part-owned by Technology Minerals.

The key materials from the batteries, which include cobalt, nickel and lithium, are safely recycled, tested and fed back into the battery market for reuse.

Mark Olpin, managing director of Slicker Recycling, said: “Diversifying into new and innovative markets is a key part of our growth plans and our link-up with Technology Minerals is a vital partnership to kick-start an effective, long-term circular economy solution for the UK’s battery market.

“The raw materials extracted from the used batteries we collect as part of this partnership will go straight back into an industry where there are pressures on resources.

"This is especially welcome at a time when electric car production and ownership is at its highest ever levels - with that trend set to continue on a steep upwards curve and therefore needs sustainable solutions to keep it moving and growing.

“We have strong credentials in the automotive sector so this partnership is the perfect fit at a time when both our organisations are firmly focused on the circular economy and how we preserve finite resources.

“Overall, we are delighted to be at the forefront of this forward-thinking partnership which is an example of how companies can join up their expertise for the good of the planet – especially so soon after the recent COP26 conference.”

Alex Stanbury, chief executive officer of Technology Minerals, added: “We are delighted to launch this national initiative for battery recycling in the UK and partner with Slicker Recycling, one of the UK’s largest waste collectors.

"The partnership will help ramp up our recycling capacity for both lead-acid and Li-Ion batteries and builds on our strategy and goal to help tackle the critical upcoming supply shortages of the key minerals being used to drive the global transition to electric vehicles.

“Technology Minerals and Slicker Recycling recognise the market need for an integrated, strategic waste management partnership, and this end-to-end logistical solution furthers both our interests in addressing the UK’s battery waste crisis. It is vital that companies work together to expand homegrown waste management solutions if the UK is to achieve its 2050 net-zero target.”

The deal comes only weeks after Slicker Recycling announced it had acquired Hydrodec – a US-based company which collects and hydrotreats used transformer and naphthenic oils from its base in Canton, Ohio.

The move into the US market further increased Slicker’s global footprint and built its circular economy credentials after the 2020 opening of its £70 million base oil re-refinery in Denmark through a joint venture with German partner, Avista AG.