18.03.2025
Black mass for the green transition
Fortech is a Costa Rican company that recycles used batteries. Their customers include German firms. GIZ helped them realise their vision.
To make the battery for a new electric car, about 6 kilos of lithium and another 11 of cobalt are needed, as well as 30 kilos of nickel and 10 of manganese. One key factor facing the industry is where to source these scarce and valuable metals. New EU legislation stipulates that one quarter of demand should be met by recycled materials by 2030.
In Costa Rica, a local company called Fortech has been extracting minerals from used lithium-ion batteries since 2023. It is the first recycling plant of its sort in Central America. In 2018 Fortech won a call for ideas staged by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. As part of the develoPPP funding program on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ brought together the founders and specialists at RWTH Aachen University, established a network with professors and private companies, and advised the government on the regulations governing battery recycling.
‘We have developed a new procedure that meets the most rigorous environmental standards,’ says Fortech founder and managing director Guillermo Pereira. ‘To put it simply, we shred the battery and extract the electrolyte and the pure metal components.’ What is obtained, is a granulate known as black mass. Chemical procedures can then be used to extract lithium, cobalt and nickel. In 2024 the Costa Ricans processed 100 tonnes of used batteries producing black mass. This year, for the first time, they aim to operate at full capacity and process 1,000 tonnes.
A successful model for other countries
The GIZ project in Costa Rica has now ended. But since 2024 operations have been continuing in Mexico. Two factors make Mexico an attractive option for battery recycling. Firstly, according to the UN, Mexico produces about 1.5 million tonnes of electronic waste every year – more than the whole of Central America. Only 3.5 per cent is currently recycled. Secondly, major automobile manufacturers produce electric vehicles in Mexico. German manufacturers too are converting their plants in Mexico to produce electric cars.
In the project in Mexico, GIZ is bringing the Fortech founders together with investors; the Costa Ricans plan to build a second plant in Mexico. GIZ is also advising the Mexican government on circular economy regulations. The aim is to build a properly functioning recycling system for batteries throughout the country.
Talks with German manufacturers
Fortech regularly takes delivery of used batteries from automobile manufacturers, for recycling. They are engaged in talks with German manufacturers in Mexico. Fortech also has contracts to supply black mass to German companies. ‘There can be no electric mobility without lithium and critical minerals like cobalt and nickel,’ explains founder Pereira. With his company Fortech, he claims to be able to recycle 98 per cent of the materials from batteries. This is how they establishing a circular economy.