Li-Cycle to open new battery recycling facility at Ultium Cells' battery cell manufacturing plant
Li-Cycle will operate its sixth and largest lithium-ion battery recycling facility at the Ultium Cells battery cell manufacturing mega-factory site in Warren, Ohio. Ultium Cells is a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution. This new facility continues Li-Cycle's execution and focus on growing its integrated Spoke & Hub network in North America.
Li-Cycle's new facility will be co-located on the same site as Ultium Cells' battery cell manufacturing mega-factory currently under construction in Warren, Ohio, and will support Li-Cycle's multi-year agreement to process the battery manufacturing scrap from the mega-factory.
Ultium Cells will construct a new building for Li-Cycle's recycling facility, and Li-Cycle will install and operate its proprietary Spoke technology and equipment at the facility after construction is complete. The co-located facility will enhance Li-Cycle's ability to serve Ultium Cells' recycling needs by providing on-site conversion of battery manufacturing scrap to intermediate products.
Li-Cycle expects its Ohio facility to substantially reduce the costs associated with moving and handling battery manufacturing scrap materials, given its proximity to Ultium Cells' mega-factory. The new Spoke facility will also be optimized for the particular types of battery manufacturing scrap generated at the Ultium Cells plant, enhancing production efficiency.
Once complete, Li-Cycle's Ohio Spoke facility will have the capacity to process up to 15,000 tonnes of battery manufacturing scrap and battery materials per year, bringing Li-Cycle's total global recycling capacity to 55,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery input per year. The Spoke facility is expected to be operational in early 2023 and is anticipated to create at least 35 new jobs.
The primary output product of the Spoke will be black mass, a powder-like substance consisting of a number of highly valuable materials, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which Li-Cycle will convert into battery-grade materials in Rochester, New York.
