The Midlands-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.”
Alex Stanbury, chief executive officer of Technology Minerals, added: “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.”
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.