Recycling

Recycling

Black Mass | Payables & Prices

Black Mass | Payables & Prices

In 2023, about 0.5 million tonnes of black mass was produced globally. This figure is expected to increase up to 1 million tonnes of black mass in 2027. A major hurdle in this market is non-uniform payables and pricing mechanisms across various regions. It is unclear whether recyclers can command a ‘green’ price premium.

Payable:

Currently, black mass is typically priced based on a % payable of the nickel and cobalt content as there is no other way to determine black mass prices. In South Korea, the weekly payables are approximately 70% for Ni, 70% for Co, and 4.5% for Li.

Prices:

Source: Fastmarkets Battery Recycling Forecast. Battery Raw Materials Global Outlook Webinar - November 2023

In Asia, NCM, NCA black mass prices are 20% higher than black mass prices in Europe due to higher recovery rates in Asia. Europe black mass market supply is in surplus due to higher pre-processing capacity than refining capacity. Prices may also be impacted by black mass impurity %.

Extracted from the PDF; charts and images may read imperfectly.