Lithium-ion battery recycler facility Li-Cycle has opened a second plant to produce black mass for the battery industry in New York, US.
The Canadian firm’s Spoke 2 facility in Eastman Business Park in Rochester will produce an intermediate mixed battery material product (black mass) from all types of used lithium-ion batteries.
The facility has the capacity to process up to 5,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries per year.
Li-Cycle is now capable of recycling 10,000 tons/year through its two North American plants. The firm also produces black mass at its Spoke 1 facility in Ontario, Canada.
Both plants will supply black mass to Li-Cycle’s future Hub, which will be built at Eastman Business Park by 2022.
The company use a combination of mechanical safe size reduction and hydrometallurgical resources in its recycling process, which its says can recover at least 95% of all materials.
The Hub will process black mass in order to produce battery-grade materials, including: lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese.
Last month, Li-Cycle closed a Series C equity-funding round to develop its New York commercial hub and to drive expansion into international markets.
Funding was led by Moore Strategic Ventures. The terms were not disclosed.
Li-Cycle CEO Ajay Kochhar, said: “This is a market that requires significant development, specifically when it comes to handling the incoming tsunami of spent lithium-ion batteries.
“Without sustainable and economically viable lithium-ion battery recycling, we believe it’s likely that electric vehicle proliferation will be substantially hindered.”
