(Yicai Global) May 18 -- Chinese battery recycler GEM is planning a secondary listing to raise funds to build a facility in Hungary to generate ternary precursor products for clients in Europe.

The company has signed a cooperation memorandum with the consulate general of Hungary in Shanghai to construct a used battery recycle plant in the central European country to reuse materials with high nickel content for new batteries, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement yesterday, without disclosing the scale of investment nor the schedule.

The funds will be coming from overseas. The Chinese enterprise is eyeing a secondary listing with global depository receipts on the SIX Swiss Exchange for overseas nickel mines and battery material projects, including the plant in Hungary, it added.

The goal of the new project is to build a whole life cycle of the battery value chain in Europe, said GEM. The facility will serve the firm's clients in Europe, including Ecopro and Umicore Group.

Cheongju-based Ecopro, which makes battery cathode material, has been a customer of GEM since April 2021. The South Korean firm counts power battery giants Samsung SDI and SK Innovation as some of its clients. 

The Chinese waste management company and Ecopro agreed in March that the former will supply 700,000 tons of high-nickel ternary precursor materials to the latter from 2023 to 2026. GEM promised to deliver products made locally in Europe from 2024.

GEM is the biggest recycler of used batteries in China. It has built 16 facilities to process waste including automotive batteries across the country. Shipments of its core product, ternary precursor materials, ranked among the global top three, according to the firm's 2021 annual report.

The news failed to excite investors. GEM's stock price [SHE: 002340] slid 0.3 percent to close at CNY7.37 (USD1.10). The shares are a third down in value over the past 12 months.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi