By Daniel J. Graeber
Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Lithium-ion developer Li-Cycle said Monday it had conditional federal support for what could be the first North American source of recycled battery-grade lithium.
The company has a $375 million conditional loan guarantee from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program for a planned commercial materials center in Rochester, N.Y.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the funding would go to what's expected to be the largest supplier of recycled materials for lithium-ion batteries in the region.
"That means the heart of hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles, which will soon dominate our roads, will be made with battery components from right here in Rochester," the senator said.
While the United States does contain the metals and minerals needed for the energy transition away from fossil fuels, just mining the resources is an expensive endeavor and only a handful of countries have proven success.
The Paris-based International Agency estimates that the Democratic Republic of Congo currently produces 70% of the world's cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries, while Australia, Chile and China account for 90% of the total global production of lithium.
But developments are advancing quickly. Lithium company Ioneer secured a conditional $700 million federal loan in January to develop the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mineral deposit in Nevada. The company believes the mine could support the development of enough batteries to power 400,000 electric vehicles per year.
Li-Cycle said it already has infrastructure in place to develop tens of thousands of tons of material used in batteries, but believes its hub in Rochester will help lay a foundation for a stronger domestic core.
"As a sustainable pure-play battery material recycling company, we expect the Rochester Hub will position Li-Cycle as a leading domestic producer of recycled battery-grade materials for accelerating electrification demand to address climate change and secure energy independence," Li-Cycle co-founder, president and CEO Ajay Kochhar said.
Canadian company Li-Cycle secures conditional US$375M loan for new U.S. battery facility
Toronto-based battery recycling company Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. announced it will receive a US$375 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a battery facility near Rochester, New York.
Li-Cycle said in a news release Monday it received a conditional commitment from the U.S. governing body as part of its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. The facility will produce recycled battery-grade lithium and is expected to be the first of its kind in North America.
“The Rochester Hub is a cornerstone asset for Li-Cycle and its stakeholders and will be an important contributor to the clean energy economy,” Ajay Kochhar, the president and chief executive officer of Li-Cycle, said in the release.
When running at full capacity, the release said the facility could produce up to 8,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate, 48,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate and 7,500 tonnes of cobalt sulphate each year.
“As a sustainable pure-play battery material recycling company, we expect the Rochester Hub will position Li-Cycle as a leading domestic producer of recycled battery-grade materials for accelerating electrification demand to address climate change and secure energy independence,” Kochhar said.
The loan will have a term of up to 12 years and certain conditions will need to be met before closing, which the release said is expected to occur in the second quarter of this year.
The facility will meet the battery needs of around 203,000 electric vehicles (EVs) each year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The governing body said the facility will advance electrification efforts in the U.S., while enhancing the country’s EV supply chain.
Support provided to EVs through the facility’s output will reduce emissions by more than 716,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
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