Synopsis The recycling initiative is already underway at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company, with a joint development agreement in place with a customer and the company looking at making investments with original equipment manufacturers. iStock Recycling is viewed by environmental groups as one important way to reduce new mining projects. The world’s biggest lithium miner wants to extract more of the battery metal from old cars as demand surges and aging electric vehicles are traded in. Albemarle Corp. is making investments and partnering with automotive equipment manufacturers on the recycling effort, which it calls “critical” to its future growth.