Canadian firm Li-Cycle Holdings has signed two deals that will close the loop for lithium-ion battery materials recycling in North America.
One is a commercial deal with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution to recycle scrap material from electric-vehicle battery-cell production at Ultium Cells— the joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution.
It follows a multiyear agreement signed in May 2021 for Li-Cycle to recycle up to 100% of the material scrap from Ultium’s lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing.
Around 95% of the recovered materials— cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, copper, manganese and aluminium— can be used in the production of new batteries or for adjacent industries, said Ultium at the time.
Battery materials deal
Li Cycle has signed an agreement with South Korean firms LG Chem and LG Energy Solution for the sale of nickel sulphate from its recycling hub in New York, US.
With the new agreements, LG Chem and its subsidiary LG Energy Solution will now aim to close a $50 million investment to buy common shares of Li-Cycle.
Through a 10-year agreement, Li-Cycle will recycle nickel-bearing lithium-ion battery scrap and other lithium-ion battery material from LGES’ North American manufacturing sites.
In addition, under 10-year nickel sulphate off-take agreements with the South Korean firms, Li-Cycle will sell a combined initial allocation of 20,000 tons of nickel, contained in nickel sulphate produced at its hub facility, to the LG companies through its off-take partner, Traxys North America.
Li-Cycle estimates the nickel sulphate to be sold to LGC and LGES under these arrangements will be enough to produce lithium-ion batteries that can power approximately 300,000 high-performing EVs.
Preferred recycling partner
Li-Cycle has been selected as the preferred battery recycling partner to both LG Chem and LGES for their North America operations.
The deal includes an agreement to off-take battery manufacturing scrap to be fed into Li-Cycle’s ‘Spoke’ facilities.
Li-Cycle’s Spokes recycling plants create the black mass from batteries and scrap, and its ‘Hubs’ turn that black mass into battery materials for reuse.
