Completion of the OSAM Project

The OSAM project (OPTIMUN SHREDDER ALKALINE MACHINE) was carried out solely by ENVIROBAT ESPAÑA, thanks to the support received from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain, under the framework of grants to boost the Circular Economy of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR-EC) funded by the European Union – Next GenerationEU. Specifically, the grant amounted to 55% of the investment executed in the project.

OSAM had an execution duration of approximately 17 months, and its main objective was to improve the mechanical treatment process of alkaline battery waste through the replacement of old equipment with new, modern machines that form a state-of-the-art recycling treatment system. This upgrade significantly enhanced the recycling process of these wastes, achieving an increase in the recovery and utilization of by-products from 15% to 66.17%, which are destined to serve as secondary raw material for various applications within the industrial sector.

The project known as OSAM holds high strategic importance in overcoming the current weakness of the European Union (EU). For this reason, the European Commission approved a regulation on Fundamental Raw Materials last year, under which it is expected that the demand for rare earth elements will increase exponentially in the coming years.

The OSAM project promotes an effort to overcome the EU’s limited production capacity of critical minerals and the weak development of certain segments that are currently affecting the value chain of the continent’s industrial sector.

Among the objectives achieved with the execution of the OSAM project, the following stand out:

• Reduction of 2,774 tons of alkaline battery waste at the end of its useful life.
• Recovery of 1,835 tons of high-quality by-products.
• Reduction of 2,798 tons CO2eq in CO2 emissions.
• Increase in the recovery and utilization of by-products from alkaline battery waste from 15% to 66.71%, surpassing the current state of the art.
• Increase in the share of secondary raw materials in the industrial market, with 1,145 tons of Zinc and valuable metals, thereby promoting the culture of Industrial Symbiosis in the mutual utilization of materials and resources, profitably benefiting all stakeholders involved.
• The measures implemented improved the overall energy efficiency of Envirobat’s industrial facility, providing a reduction of 14.24% in its energy consumption (2.96 MWh/month).
• The execution of the OSAM project stimulated knowledge and research into new recycling processes, specifically in the recovery of by-products and their utilization as secondary raw material in the industry’s value chain.

The experience and development achieved in this project will create opportunities for the implementation of new projects based on Innovation and Research, with a commitment and responsibility to enable sustainable growth based on a circular economy. Developing new recycling and recovery processes compatible with the technologies of discarded batteries will be Envirobat’s new proposals in the near future, aiming to surpass current recyclability thresholds and add value to the recycling industrial sector.