Battery recycling technology company Lithion has raised 125 million Canadian dollars ($99 million US) in a Series A funding round, and has granted construction and manufacturing firm IS Dongseo the exclusive right to use its lithium-ion battery recycling technology in the South Korean market.

Canada-based Lithion will use the funding on a separation plant, a Technology Development Center for R&D of its technology, and engineering studies to prepare for a hydrometallurgy plant in Quebec. Lithion says its first commercial and mechanical separation plant in Quebec will produce more than 7,500 metric tons per year of recycled material.

Lithion’s licensing agreement with IS Dongseo will bring the company’s technology to South Korea. According to Lithion, in 2022 IS Dongseo plans to start building its first battery recycling plant in South Korea, which will be capable of processing about 7,500 tons of waste batteries per year. After that, Lithion says IS Dongseo plans to open a hydrometallurgy plant projected to supply over 15,000 tons of battery-grade materials per year.

Lithion says its goal is to open 25 battery recycling plants based on its technology by 2037, in places where the need is most urgent.

“Lithion’s positive impact potential is colossal, as its technology makes it possible to recycle more than 95% of the strategic metals contained in the batteries of electric vehicles, thereby preventing the negative effects of their extraction,” said Stéphane Morency, Vice President and CIO of Fondaction, one of Lithion’s investors.

Source: Lithion’s Series A Funding, Lithion’s Licensing Agreement