Li-Cycle has announced plans to build its first Hub facility near Rochester, New York. The company expects to process equivalent battery material to power approximately 225,000 EVs per year. 

Li-Cycle (profiled in our July/August 2020 issue) uses a hub-and-spoke model for its recycling process. The New York Hub will be integrated with Li-Cycle’s existing network of Spoke facilities across North America, which take in end-of-life batteries and battery manufacturing scrap to produce black mass, an intermediate product containing valuable metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. The Hub will transform that black mass into critical battery grade materials to be returned back to the lithium-ion battery supply chain. 

Meanwhile, Li-Cycle, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution have entered into a manufacturing scrap supply and nickel sulfate purchasing agreement. LGES and Li-Cycle intend to partner on recycling nickel-bearing lithium-ion battery scrap and other battery materials to create a closed-loop ecosystem. LG Chem and LGES together will make a $50-million equity investment in Li-Cycle.

“We believe the upsizing of our commercial Hub facility is timely, to capture growth from heightened demand in North America driving significant new battery megafactory deployments. We expect the Hub project to deliver highly accretive returns,” said Li-Cycle President Ajay Kochhar. 

Source: Li-Cycle