From end to beginning
Lithium batteries play a vital role in the transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future – but what happens when they reach the end of their life?
Renewable Metals has a solution.
Our unique alkali recycling process recovers critical minerals from old batteries so they can be used again and again.
What makes our process different?
HIGH RECOVERY
We can recover almost all the lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese in end-of-life batteries, without the need to pre-process to black mass.
COST-EFFECTIVE
With fewer steps and leach recycling, our capital and operating costs are lower.
SUSTAINABLE
No sodium sulfate or other chemically precipitated by-products, and low temperature processing.
ROBUST
Our process works for all major battery chemistries, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
Effective.
Sustainable.
Robust.
Our unique recycling solution recovers the critical minerals in lithium batteries, preventing toxic chemicals from leaching into the environment and creating a circular system where new batteries can be made from recycled materials.
Big picture? It’s about finding practical, impactful, sustainable ways to accelerate decarbonisation and protect our planet. Recycling is the lowest carbon source of critical minerals.
Shifting the paradigm to solve a global problem
As battery recycling turned away from energy-intensive pyrometallurgy, chemical extraction or hydrometallurgy was the natural next step. Globally, many recyclers looked to acid simply because that’s what they’re used to, but it has challenges.
Renewable Metals was founded by a team of West Australian metallurgists who’ve spent decades extracting battery metals from mining ore bodies and concentrates around the world. As a major producer of lithium (half the global supply), nickel and other metals, Australia boasts some world-leading metal extraction experts (like ours). Unlike the rest of the world, the country has a long history of alkali-based metallurgy for refining nickel and cobalt.
That collective knowledge put us in a unique position to invent a world-first, alkali-based recycling process. Effective, sustainable, and robust, our process has fewer steps than acid-based recycling and lets us recover more of the lithium and other metals from end-of-life batteries, with lower costs and without creating another waste problem (like disposing sodium sulfate).
We’re working with businesses in the global lithium battery supply chain as we bring our recycling concept to life.
Meet the Renewable Metals team
Luan Atkinson
CEO and Director
Bio
Luan Atkinson joined Renewable Metals in May 2022 and was appointed CEO in December that year. She has an extensive track record in developing new products and building businesses, most recently as COO and co-founder of an alternative investment firm with over $2 billion under management (at its peak). She’s also a former McKinsey consultant and has held senior roles in funds management and investment banking.
Luan holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University and Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia.
Mark Urbani
CTO and Co-founder
Bio
Mark Urbani joined Renewable Metals as Chief Technology Officer in July 2023. He specialises in developing, piloting, and designing leaching and solvent extraction technology. After his first job at an acid-based nickel refinery near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, Mark discovered the elegance of alkali-based extraction at Cawse Nickel. Since then, he has continued to develop novel processes and pilot extraction programs for base metals, like nickel, copper, cobalt and vanadium as well as helping scale-up novel lithium extraction technology. Before inventing our unique process, Mark also developed and piloted acid-based battery recycling processes.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Applied Chemistry from Curtin University and a post-Graduate Diploma in Extractive Metallurgy from the Western Australian School of Mines.
Peter Beaven
Chair, Board of Directors
Bio
Peter joined Renewable Metals in June 2023 as chair of our Board of Directors. He brings broad knowledge and an invaluable perspective to the team. Most recently, Peter worked as CFO of BHP, managing billion-dollar projects globally across the full project lifecycle and working closely with joint venture partners. He was accountable for capital allocation of entire BHP asset portfolio, project assessment, review, and execution, as well as investor relations.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Natal University in South Africa.
Gary Johnson
Co-founder and Director
Bio
Gary Johnson is a co-founder of Renewable Metals and brings a deep knowledge of mining, metal extraction and metallurgy built over a 40-year career. He has worked as a metallurgist, mine manager, company owner, CEO and Chairman for several Australian mining and mineral processing organisations, and has hands-on experience in developing and commercialising novel metal extraction processes. Gary has several patents relating to those processes, including uranium processing and a world-first technology to extract lithium from lithium-mica-bearing minerals.
Gary holds an Associate Diploma of Metallurgy from Wollongong Technical College in New South Wales, Australia.
Nick Vines
Co-founder
Bio
Nick Vines is a partner and metallurgist at Strategic Metallurgy. He specialises in base metal flotation, and has a wealth of experience in modelling, design, commissioning, and production of metal extraction processes. Nick has also worked in technical and production roles at some of Australia’s best-known mines and plants. As an experienced metallurgist and creative problem-solver, he has helped scale novel technologies, including in nickel and lithium extraction.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in Extractive Metallurgy from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
In the news
One of the Holon IQ’s 100 most promising Climate Tech startups from Australia and New Zealand
November 2023: Focused on identifying young, fast growing and innovative climate tech start-ups in Australia and New Zealand, the ANZ Climate Tech 100 companies ladders up into the Global Climate Tech 1000 – presented at COP28 in Dubai. Renewable Metals was selected through a mix of product quality, strong traction, good market fit, capable team, and solid capital position.
Read more: HolonIQ ANZ Climate Tech 100.
Renewable Metals closes A$8M capital raise
Renewable Metals, has received A$8 million in seed funding from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (via Virescent Ventures), Investible (the lead investor via its early-stage Climate Tech Fund), Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, and others to scale and commercialise its groundbreaking lithium-ion battery recycling technology.
Accelerating the rate of climate innovation
June 2023: Renewable Metals joins Third Derivative’s Climate Cohort 23-2. The Accelerator supports world-changing climate tech startups with significant climate impact potential, addressing billion-dollar markets bringing innovations in hard science, hardware, software and business models to the world.
Startup poised to decarbonise the world
June 2023: After a highly competitive selection process, ten startups from across Australia and New Zealand, including Renewable Metals, join EnergyLab’s 2023 Climate Solutions Accelerator to get the support they need to deploy their innovative technology at scale.
Lithium value adders win Supercharge Australia Award
March 2023: Renewable Metals wins the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Award with its unique technology that turns battery waste into battery metals
Activating the downstream processing value chain
Nov 2022: Renewable Metals receives grant from NSW Critical Minerals Activation Fund towards a feasibility study for a 5ktpa recycling plant.
Get in touch
23 Belmont Avenue
Belmont
Western Australia 6104
Australia
info@renewable-metals.com
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