Ace Green to deploy emission-free lead recycling technologies at Hakurnas Lead Works battery recycling sites

Ace Green Recycling, a Singapore-based lead and lithium-ion battery recycler with North American headquarters in Houston, has signed an equipment supply and licensing deal with Israel-based Hakurnas Lead Works Ltd. to set up greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-free battery recycling facilities in Israel and Romania.

Ace will deploy its proprietary zero-emission lead battery recycling technology at Israel’s leading secondary lead producer to progressively create 50,000 tons of lead battery recycling capacity per year, which the company says translates to around $60 million lead metal sales annually.

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Hakurnas is a lead smelter with more than 60 years of operations in Israel. During that span, the firm says it has increasingly become one of the key lead suppliers to Europe and North America with its London Metal Exchange- (LME-) approved brand and, through the partnership with Ace, plans to make a positive impact on the regions’ goals towards reducing carbon emissions.

“We immediately recognized the value of the technology ACE was offering to us and are thrilled to be joining them to take the industry in a new, more sustainable direction,” Hakurnas owner and CEO Miron Badin says. “It is important to us to link with Ace to become very early adopters of such radical technology, as Hakurnas always aims to be at the vanguard of development in our industry.”

Lead batteries are a key element in the automotive and telecoms industries, while also playing a crucial role in the energy transition for renewable power storage. According to Ace, lead batteries traditionally are recycled via a smelting process that involves operating temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celsius, producing significant GHG emissions and toxic solid waste that must go to landfill.

Ace says, unlike smelting, its technology replaces the smelting furnace and operates at room temperature, runs on electricity, has zero scope 1 GHG emissions and reduces solid waste by more than 80 percent. The company adds its process will greatly enhance Hakurnas’ profitability and minimize its operator and environmental risks.

“Hakurnas has always been an innovative company, and, with this partnership, we see them as setting new benchmarks for lead battery recycling in Europe and the Middle East, thus leading the way for other battery recyclers in the region,” Ace CEO Nishchay Chadha says. “This partnership agreement with Hakurnas is a natural fit for both companies’ continued commitment to ensuring global electrification is made not just profitable, but also sustainable.”

As part of the deal, Ace says it will sell its proprietary equipment and chemicals to Hakurnas and provide technical and engineering support for installation, commissioning and process optimization. Initial operations using Ace’s equipment are expected to begin at the Hakurnas plant in Ashdod, Israel, by the fourth quarter of this year, and the companies say they plan to scale up in phases following the appropriate authorizations.

Once fully deployed, the companies say they project these facilities to recycle 50,000 tons of scrap batteries every year, thereby preventing the emission of 30,000 tons of CO₂, stopping 2,400 tons of solid waste from going into landfills, recycling more than 3,500 tons of plastics and providing high-paying, sustainable green jobs for the community.

The companies add the agreement also allows for further collaboration to utilize Ace’s proprietary lithium-ion battery recycling processes to set up greenfield developments in Israel and Romania, again using Ace’s hydrometallurgical technology.

“Hakurnas is a natural partner for Ace. We are delighted to be working so closely with a company that also aligns with our belief that the lead industry must continually innovate to secure its mandate to operate,” Ace Vice President for Global Strategy and Business Development Farid Ahmed says. “Hakurnas is one of those lead producers that already does a tremendous job of recycling to the highest standards, but also recognizes that we cannot rest on our laurels. We want to give the industry the best tools to do an even better job.”