Li-Cycle opens lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Arizona
by CM Staff
Li-Cycle’s Arizona Spoke facility is using a technology that processes full EV battery packs without dismantling them manually.
TORONTO — Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a company involved in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and a lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, announced that its previously announced Arizona Spoke facility located in Gilbert, Arizona has commenced commercial operations.
Arizona reportedly presents an opportunity for lithium-ion battery recycling due to the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in the region, as well as its close proximity to large markets such as California, which are expected to produce an increasing supply of end-of-life batteries available for recycling from EVs, energy storage projects and consumer electronics.
Li-Cycle’s Arizona Spoke facility is using a technology that processes full EV battery packs without dismantling them manually, making recycling of those battery packs reportedly safer, sustainable and more labor efficient. The facility is located close to the Company’s existing battery and manufacturing scrap supply network in the Southwestern United States, which optimizes logistics and other efficiencies for recycling services.
“The launch of Li-Cycle’s innovative battery recycling facility bolsters Arizona’s already robust EV supply chain and sends a signal that Arizona is the place to be for electric batteries,” said Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. “Sustainable industries have found a home in Arizona, and few companies represent the innovation and possibilities that brings like Li-Cycle. We are proud to see Li-Cycle’s facility up and operational.”
“We are excited Li-Cycle’s innovative battery recycling facility has commenced operations,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “Li-Cycle’s Arizona Spoke will increase EV battery recycling capabilities, strengthening Arizona’s battery and electric vehicle supply chains while creating quality jobs in the community.”
Li-Cycle’s Alabama Spoke, which is of the same design as the Arizona Spoke, is scheduled to be operational in the Company’s third quarter of 2022. When both the Arizona and Alabama Spokes are operational, Li-Cycle will have a total processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum. By the end of 2023, the Company expects to have a total of 65,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery processing capacity per annum, across its Spokes in North America and Europe.
The primary output product of the Arizona Spoke is black mass, consisting of a number of highly valuable critical metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which Li-Cycle will convert into battery-grade materials at its first North American Hub facility, which is under construction in Rochester, New York. Li-Cycle expects that the Hub will be capable of processing 35,000 tonnes of black mass annually, with targeted commissioning in 2023.
