Raw materials firm Electra Battery Materials Corporation has signed a lithium-ion battery recycling and cobalt sulfate supply agreement with Japanese sōgō shōsha Marubeni Corporation.
The memorandum of understanding includes sourcing black mass from recycled lithium-ion batteries for Electra’s Ontario, Canada refinery, and marketing its cobalt sulfate in Japan.
Marubeni will source lithium-ion battery material for Electra’s hydrometallurgical recycling operation from its network of battery recyclers in Asia and globally.
Electra intends to market a portion of its cobalt production into existing lithium-ion battery supply chains in Japan that are serving the North American market.
Electra is on track to commission its “near-zero carbon” cobalt refinery in late this year; the company’s recycling operation is expected to be commissioned next year.
The cobalt facility is the first of a four-phased Battery Materials Park project that will result in a North American facility refining cobalt, nickel and black mass, and converting the material into cathode precursor material for lithium-ion batteries.