ROME (Reuters) – Swiss mining company Glencore will no longer build an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling plant on the Italian island of Sardinia due to delays in the authorisation process, Italian trade unions said.
Glencore said in May it was going to develop the site with Canada’s Li-Cycle, saying the plant would produce lithium and other materials from the shredded material extracted from used car batteries, known as “black mass”.
The lack of firm deadlines for the environmental impact assessment procedure that is being carried out by Sardinia’s regional government has led the two companies to decide to build the hub elsewhere, CGIL, CISL and UIL labour unions said in a statement on Wednesday.
Glencore was not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso also did not reply to a request for comment.
Business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said on Thursday the battery recycling facility would likely instead be built in Germany, but added that locations in Spain, Canada and the U.S. were also being considered.
Last month, Reuters reported that documents filed by Glencore as part of the environmental impact assessment procedure had been judged insufficient by Sardinia’s regional administration
Also in October, Glencore said it might look at alternative options for the hub after the Sardinian regional government rejected a fast-track approval process for its pilot project.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Jan Harvey)
