Li-Cycle Opens Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Facility in Alabama
Li-Cycle’s fourth Spoke recycling facility in North America has capacity to process up to 10,000 tonnes of manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries per year
The Spoke can recycle the equivalent of batteries required for approximately 20,000 EVs per year and has the ability to directly process full EV battery packs
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Li-Cycle Corp. (NYSE: LICY) (“Li-Cycle” or the “Company”), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, is pleased to announce that its Alabama Spoke located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama has started commercial operations.
The Alabama Spoke utilizes Li-Cycle’s patented and environmentally friendly technology to recycle and directly process full EV battery packs without any dismantling through a submerged shredding process that produces no wastewater. Additionally, Li-Cycle’s full pack processing capability improves efficiency and is fit to process the growing variety of EV battery architectures, including cell-to-pack formats that have limited options for dismantling, which further differentiates the Company’s value proposition.
The Alabama Spoke is strategically located to support the recycling needs of the Company’s growing battery supply customer base in the southeastern U.S. region. The development of the EV supply chain in the region continues to accelerate as battery and automotive manufacturers establish operations. This growth is expected to continue to produce a significant amount of battery production scrap and end-of life batteries that will require recycling.
“Li-Cycle’s new battery recycling facility in Tuscaloosa adds a dynamic new dimension to Alabama’s evolving auto industry,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said. “This facility will play an important role in the lifecycle of batteries powering electric vehicles by contributing an innovative sustainability solution.”
“We are excited to announce that our Alabama Spoke has commenced operations,” said Ajay Kochhar, co-founder and CEO of Li-Cycle. “This facility enhances our ability to support the recycling needs of our diverse and growing customer base in North America to ensure lithium-ion battery material is recycled in an environmentally friendly and safe manner. Li-Cycle is creating an essential domestic supply of recycled material to support EV production and assist automakers in meeting their domestic production content requirements.”
Li-Cycle’s Alabama Spoke is more than 100,000 square feet in size, with an additional approximately 120,000 square feet in warehousing capacity. The facility is of the same design as the Company’s Spoke in Arizona, which opened earlier this year and is currently operating near target throughput. The Alabama Spoke has created approximately 45 new jobs and will leverage the key process improvements and optimization projects implemented in Arizona to benefit operations. The Alabama Spoke has a total input processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery materials per year, and has the flexibility to expand processing capacity in the future.
Across its four operating Spokes in North America, Li-Cycle now has a total input processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, or the equivalent of batteries from approximately 60,000 EVs. The four operating Spokes, which are located in Kingston, Ontario; Rochester, New York; Gilbert, Arizona; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, ensure the Company has an established footprint in key strategic regions to maintain its first-mover advantage in the industry.
By the end of 2023, the Company expects to have a total of 65,000 tonnes per year of lithium-ion battery material processing capacity across its Spoke network in North America and Europe.
The primary output product of Li-Cycle’s Spokes is black mass, consisting of highly valuable critical metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which the Company will convert into battery-grade materials at its first commercial North American Hub facility. The Hub facility is under construction in Rochester, NY and Li-Cycle expects that it will be capable of processing 35,000 tonnes of black mass annually, with battery materials equivalent to approximately 225,000 EVs. Li-Cycle is targeting to commence commissioning the Rochester Hub in calendar 2023. The Rochester Hub is expected to be the first commercial hydrometallurgical battery resource recovery facility and the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate production in North America. The Rochester Hub is expected to position the Company as a leading domestic supplier of battery-grade materials.
About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.
Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologies™ to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of critical battery materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage battery manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries, and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as “believe”, “may”, “will”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “should”, “would”, “could”, “plan”, “potential”, “future”, “target” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements about: the expected performance of the Alabama Spoke; the growth of the Company’s battery supply customer base and the accelerating development of the EV supply chain in the southeastern United States; the expectation that battery production scrap and end-of-life batteries will continue to be produced in that region and require recycling; the Alabama Spoke’s expected role in the lifecycle of batteries powering EVs and its contribution as a sustainability solution; the ability of the Alabama facility to leverage and benefit from process improvements and optimization projects implemented at the Arizona Spoke; the expectation that the Company can maintain its first mover advantage in the industry; the expected total processing capacity of the Company’s North American and European Spoke facilities by the end of 2023; the expected future conversion of black mass into battery-grade materials at the Company’s Hub facility under construction in Rochester, NY; the expected annual black mass processing capacity at the Rochester Hub; the expected timing of the Rochester Hub’s commissioning; expectations that the Hub will be the first commercial hydrometallurgical battery resource recovery facility and the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate production in North America; and the Company’s expectation that the Rochester Hub will position the Company as a leading domestic supplier of battery-grade materials. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this communication, made by Li-Cycle management, including but not limited to assumptions regarding the timing, scope and cost of Li-Cycle’s projects; the processing capacity and production of Li-Cycle’s facilities; Li-Cycle’s ability to source feedstock and manage supply chain risk; Li-Cycle’s ability to increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms; Li-Cycle’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners; general economic conditions; currency exchange and interest rates; compensation costs; and inflation. There can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct and, as a result, actual results or events may differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Li-Cycle and are not guarantees of future performance. Li-Cycle believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: Li-Cycle’s inability to economically and efficiently source, recover and recycle lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap, as well as third party black mass, and to meet the market demand for an environmentally sound, closed-loop solution for manufacturing waste and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries; Li-Cycle’s inability to successfully implement its global growth strategy, on a timely basis or at all; Li-Cycle’s inability to manage future global growth effectively; Li-Cycle’s inability to develop the Rochester Hub, Arizona Spoke, Alabama Spoke and other future projects including its Ohio, Norway and Germany Spoke projects in a timely manner or on budget or that those projects will not meet expectations with respect to their productivity or the specifications of their end products; Li-Cycle’s failure to materially increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle may engage in strategic transactions, including acquisitions, that could disrupt its business, cause dilution to its shareholders, reduce its financial resources, result in incurrence of debt, or prove not to be successful; one or more of Li-Cycle’s current or future facilities becoming inoperative, capacity constrained or if its operations are disrupted; additional funds required to meet Li-Cycle’s capital requirements in the future not being available to Li-Cycle on commercially reasonable terms or at all when it needs them; Li-Cycle expects to incur significant expenses and may not achieve or sustain profitability; problems with the handling of lithium-ion battery cells that result in less usage of lithium-ion batteries or affect Li-Cycle’s operations; Li-Cycle’s inability to maintain and increase feedstock supply commitments as well as securing new customers and off-take agreements; a decline in the adoption rate of EVs, or a decline in the support by governments for “green” energy technologies; decreases in benchmark prices for the metals contained in Li-Cycle’s products; changes in the volume or composition of feedstock materials processed at Li-Cycle’s facilities; the development of an alternative chemical make-up of lithium-ion batteries or battery alternatives; Li-Cycle’s revenues for the Rochester Hub are derived significantly from a single customer; Li-Cycle’s insurance may not cover all liabilities and damages; Li-Cycle’s heavy reliance on the experience and expertise of its management; Li-Cycle’s reliance on third-party consultants for its regulatory compliance; Li-Cycle’s inability to complete its recycling processes as quickly as customers may require; Li-Cycle’s inability to compete successfully; increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or disagreements with tax authorities; significant variance in Li-Cycle’s operating and financial results from period to period due to fluctuations in its operating costs and other factors; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates which could result in declines in reported sales and net earnings; unfavourable economic conditions, such as consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic; natural disasters, unusually adverse weather, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, cyber incidents, boycotts and geo-political events; failure to protect or enforce Li-Cycle’s intellectual property; Li-Cycle may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties; Li-Cycle’s failure to effectively remediate the material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting that it has identified or if it fails to develop and maintain a proper and effective internal control over financial reporting.
These and other risks and uncertainties related to Li-Cycle’s business and the assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based are described in greater detail in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Key Factors Affecting Li-Cycle’s Performance” in its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada on January 31, 2022.
Li-Cycle assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Li-Cycle’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Contacts
Investor Relations
Nahla A. Azmy
Sheldon D’souza
investors@li-cycle.com
Media
Louie Diaz
media@li-cycle.com