Cirba Solutions has received a $50 million minority investment from the Marubeni Corporation. This investment will support Cirba Solutions' effort to expand its footprint and help create a sustainable closed-loop battery materials supply chain.
With Marubeni's global network and presence in the Asia-Pacific market with suppliers in the EV industry, this investment supports the need to provide more sustainable solutions for end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap that help reduce environmental impact while closing the supply gap of needed critical materials for electric vehicles.
"We are pleased to announce this additional investment as we continue to expand our Metals & Mineral Resources Division with a focus on sustainability and a circular supply chain for batteries," says Manabe Kazumi, assistant general manager of the Metals & Mineral Resources Division at Marubeni. "Cirba Solutions' extensive knowledge and expertise in battery materials, strategic roadmap for growth and commitment to helping future generations through its operations make it an ideal partner to service and supply the growing electrification sector."
While gigafactory production scrap is expected to be the majority feedstock for black mass over the next decade, end-of-life electric vehicle batteries will continue to become a larger source of recyclable materials. Cirba Solutions' vertically integrated approach and coast-to-coast coverage enable the company to support national collection programs and regionalized manufacturing needs for recovering these materials. Cirba Solutions has six active operational facilities and a seventh estimated to open at the end of 2023 in Arizona.
"Having Marubeni as a partner on our journey is of great strategic value," says David Klanecky, president and CEO of Cirba Solutions. "They are engaged in various businesses across the supply chain in the lithium-ion battery market from materials supply to logistical coordination, and we are excited to partner with them supporting that market and share the vision for a circular economy."
