AsianFin -- GEM, China’s largest supplier of battery raw materials and a leading battery recycler, has teamed up with U.S.-based Ascend Elements to develop a full lithium battery recycling chain in Europe.

The partnership will cover the entire lifecycle of lithium batteries: dismantling end-of-life batteries, extracting lithium, nickel, and cobalt compounds, recovering black mass, and producing new battery materials, the Shenzhen-based company announced yesterday.

Black mass—a powdery mixture derived from cathode sheets during battery dismantling—contains key cathode materials, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese compounds.

GEM and Ascend Elements plan to establish a joint venture in Europe to acquire, develop, and operate local battery recycling and shredding businesses for black mass recovery. They will also build production facilities to convert black mass into lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and precursor and cathode materials for new batteries, GEM said.