June 20, 2025: Ace Green Recycling has agreed a master offtake deal for lead battery material in Australia with Perth-based Enecell.
Ace said on June 16 its first commercial agreement in Australia is with the newly established lead acid breaker, a subsidiary of The Ownes Group, which services the Western Australian market.
The offtake deal is part of the commercial agreement under which Enecell will sell 100% of its recycled lead material from its battery breaking recycling facility in Perth to Ace for resale.
Ace said it plans to market the lead battery material purchased from Enecell to the company’s global network.
The agreement has an initial term of 10 years, with the opportunity to renew.
Enecell’s Perth facility has a current processing capacity of more than 15 million kilos of intermediary recycled lead products and the master offtake agreement covers any future expansions or modifications at the facility, including lead refining, casting, and alloying capabilities and lithium battery processing.
In addition, the companies are considering potentially installing Ace’s proprietary ‘GreenLead’ recycling technology at Enecell’s facility.
The firms said they are also exploring the possibility of deploying Ace’s ‘LithiumFirst’ technology.
The master offtake agreement gives Ace the right to match commercial terms offered by a potential end customer to purchase battery material from Enecell’s facility for its own use instead of for resale.
ACE claims its GreenLead technology replaces the smelting furnace, operates at room temperature, runs on electricity and has zero Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions (direct GHG emissions such as those made while running boilers and vehicles) and reduces solid waste by more than 85%.
According to Australia’s Association for the Battery Recycling Industry, The Owens Group is a family-owned business with almost two decades of experience in the West Australian market to service the ferrous and non-ferrous recycling sector.
Enecell founder and CEO Paul Owens said: “I recently had the privilege of witnessing Ace’s technology in action, and I was thoroughly impressed. I look forward to partnering with Ace to bring more climate focused recycling opportunities for both lead and lithium batteries in Australia.”
Ace CEO and co-founder Nishchay Chadha said Australia, in common with the US, has been implementing strict regulations for smelting lead and has shut down some smelters that do not meet such regulations.
“This strategically positions Ace and Enecell to help meet the demand for lead by delivering a more sustainable recycling solution.
“While lead recycling remains a key near-term growth driver for Ace, we believe that Australia’s position as the world’s top lithium producer presents significant long-term opportunities for lithium battery recycling in this market.”
Batteries International reported earlier this month that Ace had expanded its recycling partnership with Taiwanese lead refiner ACME Metal Enterprise.
