Eramet, Renault, and Suez join forces to recycle end-of-life electric vehicle batteries
Client(s) Eramet S.A., Suez RV France S.A., and The Future Is Neutral
Jones Day advised Eramet S.A., Suez RV France S.A., and The Future Is Neutral (a subsidiary of Renault S.A.) on the merger control and antitrust aspects of a transaction to create two vertically integrated joint ventures ("JVs") to provide an innovative recycling solution for end-of-life lithium-ion ("Li-ion") batteries for electric vehicles in Europe.
The transaction takes forward the European collaborative research and innovation project between Eramet and Suez ("ReLieVe") aimed at developing a closed-loop recycling process to recover metal salts from end-of-life Li-ion batteries for the production of new batteries. Specifically, the upstream JV will dismantle and convert end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and scraps into a black mass, a metal concentrate obtained by crushing and separating battery components and scraps. The downstream JV will recover high value metal salts such as lithium, cobalt or nickel from this black mass. The transaction will thus reinforce the circularity of strategic metals for the European battery industry and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in this key sector of the green economy.
Jones Day secured the transaction's unconditional clearance by several competition authorities worldwide, including the European Commission.
