First, we were selected as a nominee. Then we advanced as finalists. The 14th German Sustainability Award was presented Friday evening, December 3, 2021. Twenty-five winners from a wide range of industries accepted their award either virtually or live at the MARITIM Hotel Düsseldorf.

Primobius was nominated in the Resources category for its low-CO2 process for recycling lithium-ion batteries. Horst Krenn, Managing Director of Primobius, Dr. Hans Ferkel, SMS group CTO and Member of the Primobius Advisory Board, and Dr. Michel Siemon, Head of Corporate Development at SMS group, attended the show full of anticipation; unfortunately, however, they were not able to bring the award home this time.  Solutions for establishing resource-saving production cycles were one of the key criteria in the Resources category, the award for which went this year to Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG.

Horst Krenn, Managing Director of Primobius: “This year again, the nominees really stood out. Excellent solutions on how to make the use of resources more sustainable in future were presented. We are very proud that our innovative approach to LIB recycling made it to the finals, especially as we are still a very young company. Nevertheless, we are very grateful to have been part of this great award and impressive show. Many congratulations to the winners.”

The annual German Sustainability Award recognizes companies and industry professionals who see sustainability as part of their business model and have made substantial contributions to the transformation of sustainability by developing innovative products and services and by observing high ecological and ethical standards in their production and supply chains. This year, the sustainability awards were presented again in the Climate, Biodiversity, Supply Chain, Society, and Resources categories.

Primobius is the result of a joint venture partnership between Australian Stock Exchange listed company Neometals Ltd. and private German engineering and technology company, SMS group. Primobius is to commercialize advanced recycling technology, offering a unique and sustainable method for recovering valuable lithium, nickel, cobalt and other materials from expended and scrap electric vehicles and consumer electronics LiB’s. Recovered and refined product materials will be reformed and re-applied back into the battery supply chain.