American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) told investors that its ReElement Technologies division has achieved ultra-high pure (greater than 99.9%) lithium from its exclusively licensed and patented multi-modal chromatography technology that was developed in partnership with Purdue University.
The company said ReElement is focused on selling its high-purity lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) to the domestic battery manufacturing industry to help satisfy the need for domestically supplied battery materials while aligning with the clean vehicle tax credit as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Lithium refining in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner is the key to the domestic auto and electrification industry,” ReElement Technologies chief operating officer Jeff Peterson said in a statement. “We applaud our team for exceeding our initial target results in producing ultra-high purity, battery-grade lithium from end-of-life batteries utilizing our revolutionary and patented technology.”
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The company explained that chromatography is an efficient continuous closed loop, column-based, modular system that is able to operate at multiple stages and recover high-value components. It produces very little waste, making it environmentally benign and much easier to permit relative to conventional refining methods.
Peterson noted that the results the company has achieved and the scalability it has showcased is paramount for the high-growth battery industry.
“Our technology is unique in that we can operate standalone facilities, co-locate with battery manufacturers to process manufacturing waste or co-locate at mining operations to process spodumene to produce ultra-high purity lithium in either a carbonate or hydroxide form, and at a substantially lower economic and environmental cost than conventional chemical processing,” he added.
With growing attention on the fragile supplies of battery minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, American Resources said it is focused on the separation and purification of these elements from several sources which include:
- End-of-life batteries of varying chemistries (NMC and LFP);
- Black mass produced by third parties;
- Battery manufacturing waste/scrap; and
- Spodumene mineral ore.
The company noted that lithium, given its historic price, has typically not been recovered in the recycling process of lithium-ion batteries. However, with the projected growth of electric vehicle manufacturing and larger-scale battery storage, it said the demand for lithium is expected to double over the next three years and increase tenfold over the next decade.
Even though supply growth for lithium is expected to nearly triple by 2025 to approximately 1.5 million metric tons per annum, American Resources said it is widely believed that demand will largely outweigh projected supply with global reserves estimated at only 80 million tons. The current market price for lithium carbonate per metric ton is currently greater than $70,000, it added.
American Resources said ReElement has the capacity to process approximately 137,500 kilograms per year of battery materials to produce ultra-high pure battery minerals or compounds with its initial commercial battery production train at its first facility in Noblesville, Indiana.
Second battery production line
The company said it is in the design and engineering phase to implement its second battery production line which will have an annual capacity of approximately 13,750,000 kilograms with the ability to efficiently expand on a modular basis thereafter.
As previously announced, it said this is in addition to its initial commercial production train that is used to recycle end-of-life permanent magnets for the separation and purification of their inherent rare earth elements.
"The social and environmental benefits of our rare earth and critical element recycling segment of our business might be the most exciting component of our company,” American Resources CEO Mark Jensen noted. “Not only are we addressing domestic supply chain needs, but we are also addressing our sustainability challenges by revitalizing these much-needed elements back to ultra-pure qualities, reducing the need for the mining of these elements from environmentally and socially hazardous regions of the world, while keeping these materials in the domestic marketplace.”
Jensen said American Resources believes a sustainable and circular economy will reduce the costs of feedstocks for its future customer base while also protecting the environment in the process.
“It is our belief that bringing practical, real-life solutions to the table will bolster a more resilient domestic supply chain for these increasingly-critical raw materials and help secure our energy independence, Chromatography and our technology team is a game changer!", he concluded.
American Resources is a next-generation, environmentally and socially responsible supplier of high-quality raw materials to the new infrastructure market.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com