- Aspiring sustainable metals producer Hannans (HNR) is progressing its goal of becoming a key producer of sustainable metals by recycling lithium batteries
- Late last year, the company officially entered the lithium battery recycling sector in the Nordic region but has just recently further expanded its reach
- A potential deal will see Hannans expand operations to the UK, Ireland, Italy, and the Balkans — more than doubling its addressable market for scrap and end-of-life batteries
- The company will continue its focus on forming long-term, strategic relationships with participants in the European lithium battery supply chain
- Company shares are down 2.33 per cent to trade at 4.2 cents
Aspiring sustainable metals producer Hannans (HNR) has released a presentation outlining its forward plans.
The company aims to sustainably produce metals for the European market by recycling lithium batteries and then selling the resulting product to lithium battery precursor manufacturers with an interest in meeting legal, social and environmental obligations.
Essentially, Hannans hopes to become a key part of Europe’s lithium battery and supply chain and the circular economy. To get there, it is focused on building strategic partnerships and relationships with industry players.
A key milestone in Hannans’ quest was officially entering a binding agreement with Critical Metals at the end of November after meeting certain conditions including raising at least $5 million.
The deal was a crucial step in the company entering the lithium battery recycling sector in the Nordic region which has one of the highest electric vehicle penetration rates in the world.
If the company makes a positive final investment decision and enters a binding engineering, procurement, and construction agreement for a plant, Critical Metals can either co-contribute to all future construction costs, in which case, each party would have a 50 per cent equity interest in the plant, or its equity interest will be diluted pro-rata to its relative funding contribution.
Fast forward to the start of this week, Hannans signed a potential deal with Greenhouse Investments to expand operations further across Europe to the UK, Ireland, Italy, and the Balkans. Significantly, the heads of agreement more than doubles Hannans’ addressable market for scrap and end-of-life batteries.
Greenhouse holds a non-exclusive licence in the UK and Ireland, and an exclusive licence in Italy and the Balkans, for a base lithium battery recycling technology with the licensor of this tech being ASX-listed Neometals (NMT).
Greenhouse agreed to grant Hannans a sub-licence to commercialise the base tech in the UK and Ireland. It also granted Hannans the sole and exclusive right to fund all lithium-ion battery recycling projects potentially developed by Greenhouse in Italy and the Balkans. As of December 2021, the development of a lithium battery recycling plant is in the works with Serbia-based Metalfer.
HNR Executive Director Damian Hicks said the company “believes the technology we hold sub-licences to, will help stakeholders in our licenced jurisdictions meet their circular economy ambitions and legal obligations to recycle.”
“We are now focused on increasing Hannans business development activities and forming long-term mutually beneficial relationships with the European lithium battery supply chain participants.”
Company shares were down 2.33 per cent to trade at 4.2 cents at 12:15 pm AEDT.