Li-Cycle to build new lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Norway
by CM Staff
The facility is expected to be operational in early 2023 and will have the capacity to process up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year.
TORONTO — Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a company involved in lithium-ion battery resource recovery, announced that it has formed a joint venture with ECO STOR AS and Morrow Batteries AS. Li-Cycle will be the majority owner of the joint venture, with ECO STOR and Morrow being minority owners and Nordic-headquartered strategic partners. Through this vehicle, Li-Cycle will construct a new commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility in southern Norway.
Norway has long been a leader in electric vehicle (EV) adoption and, according to the Norwegian Automobile Federation, is on the path of phasing out sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by April 2022. This would be three years ahead of the 2025 target proposed by the Norwegian government and could result in a significant, long-term supply of end-of-life batteries.
Once constructed, the Norwegian Spoke will be Li-Cycle’s first recycling facility outside of North America and is expected to have the capacity to process up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year, including but not limited to battery manufacturing scrap, full EV packs, and energy storage systems. The facility is expected to be operational in early 2023. The initiative brings together complementary parts of a circular and sustainable value chain to the European market and brings Li-Cycle’s total expected global recycling capacity (existing and under development) to 40,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery input per year.
“This is a significant step for Li-Cycle, as we deploy our proven lithium-ion battery resource recovery solution to the European market and execute on our global growth strategy with key industry partners,” said Ajay Kochhar, President, CEO and co-founder of Li-Cycle. “Norway’s early leadership in EV adoption and ecosystem is a beacon for electrification globally, creating a robust market for both battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries domestically. Together with our new partners, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on this meaningful opportunity.”
