INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Heritage Battery Recycling, LLC (“Heritage”) and 6K announced today an exclusive joint development agreement to produce new cathode material from recycled batteries. This revolutionary process leverages Heritage’s established network infrastructure to collect, store, and process end-of-life batteries, combined with 6K’s breakthrough plasma technology to manufacture critical cathode-grade battery materials needed to power applications with high-purity requirements. This development comes at a key time, as consistent supply of battery materials is at the forefront of the US government’s efforts to secure sustainable, domestic sources.
Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K, stated, “This agreement represents the first true circular economy approach to battery recycling. An approach that is both sustainable and cost effective and most importantly can be domestically produced. It is clear that we need to recycle materials in order to ensure the sustainability of our domestic battery supply chain, and Heritage is the perfect partner in this endeavor. Their operational expertise has been demonstrated over the past 50 years of offering safe and compliant solutions to their customers, and this partnership will greatly accelerate deployment of 6K’s cathode product into the market.”
Heritage will draw upon resources from its affiliate, Heritage Environmental Services, as well as its collaboration with Heritage Crystal Clean, to build an unrivaled national collection network for sourcing battery feedstock.
Shane Thompson, President of Heritage Battery Recycling, shared his enthusiasm for the partnership with 6K: “6K is a leader in the materials management field and are the perfect partner to work with on creating a circular, sustainable solution to produce cathode material for new batteries. This is a breakthrough, as 6K’s process is massively less energy, water, and carbon intensive. It will redefine how we produce batteries.”
Heritage and 6K plan to be making cathode from recycled content as early as Q1 2022.
About Heritage Battery Recycling
Heritage Battery Recycling, LLC is a privately held, family-owned business headquartered in Indianapolis. Leveraging over 50 years of organizational experience in environmental management among its affiliates and collaborators, Heritage Battery Recycling, LLC was formally launched in 2020 as a new sustainability platform of The Heritage Group. The company provides a full-service battery management offering to manufacturers, users, and service providers in the battery industry.
To learn more about Heritage Battery Recycling, please visit www.SolvedByHBR.com
About 6K
6K represents 6000 degrees, the temperature of the surface of the sun, and the temperature of operation of our UniMelt® system, the world’s only production-scale microwave plasma system. 6K uses proprietary advanced plasma processing and industrial systems to create materials that are enabling the next-generation of commercial and consumer products, at lower cost, sustainably.
The 6K ENERGY division will launch its $25M Battery Center of Excellence in 1Q22, fully capable of pilot production with up to 500 MWh of capacity. 6K is currently sampling customers and developing products across NMC, LFP, silicon dominant anode, solid-state electrolyte, and more.
The 6K ADDITIVE division includes a 45-acre ISO9001 24/7 operation facility, that reclaims and processes over a million pounds of Ti64 per year and has recently built and commissioned a state-of-the-art 48,000 square foot production facility for additive manufacturing powders.
To learn more about 6K, please visit www.6Kinc.com
SOURCE Heritage Battery Recycling
