Electra Battery Materials Corporation (TSX-V:ELBM, OTCQX:FTSSF) has announced positive results from engineering studies and metallurgical test work for lithium-ion battery recycling.
“Engineering studies confirmed that Electra's existing refinery complex has the infrastructure, scale and equipment to process a bulk sample of material on a full production scale basis in mid-2022 with an initial investment of under US$3 million,” said the company.
Toronto-based Electra is advancing plans to develop North America's only fully integrated battery materials park and plans to kick off refining “the key components” of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, known as “black mass,” in mid-2022 at its Canadian hydrometallurgical complex.
READ: Electra Battery closes 3Q with working capital of C$62.8 million
This constitutes Electra’s second phase of a four-part strategy to become “a low carbon North American battery materials park.” Electra's processing team has been hard at work with Hatch and SGS Lakefield since the second quarter this year to develop “a flow sheet” targeting lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite, and manganese, using a 100% hydrometallurgical process that employs existing equipment at the company's refinery in Canada.
Test work confirmed that the refinery's current state will allow for successful hydrometallurgical processes to first produce battery grade cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium, and graphite products at a commercial scale. The firm said that patent applications are pending.
Electra highlighted that it would grow its recycling business in “a staged, modular fashion,” initially targeting black mass from consumer electronics and subsequently targeting primary battery scrap material from North American EV cell manufacturers.
“Recycling facility will have a very low carbon footprint due to a 100% hydrometallurgical process and hydroelectric power source resulting in nearly zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” noted the company.
"A secure, sustainable and domestic solution for recycling lithium-ion batteries is essential as North America shifts to electric mobility. At present, there is no industrial scale hydrometallurgical facility in North America to recycle the black mass material that is recovered when lithium-ion batteries are dismantled and shredded," said Electra CEO Trent Mell in a statement.
"With our existing facility in Canada, Electra can be the first recycler to establish a closed-loop supply of battery materials, making electric vehicles more sustainable and more reliant on domestic material. Our first concrete steps on that path will be a commercial scale demonstration plant in 2022 utilizing existing facilities and equipment," he added.
“Capital costs for the demonstration plant are projected to be under US$3 million making use of existing equipment, with an experienced processing team on site developing the company's cobalt sulfate plant,” said the company, adding that additional investment will allow the facility to produce battery-grade materials that can be directly returned to the lithium-ion battery supply chain.
Electra said it has been “contacted by more than 20 black mass producers in North America and around the world who are interested in selling their feed material to Electra for beneficiation.”
“Our first circuit will treat black mass from suppliers that we have identified as potential partners and can then be expanded to treat battery scrap from CAM and cell manufacturers," said Mark Trevisiol, who is the Vice President of Project Development at Electra.
Electra said it is expanding its permitted Canadian refinery to produce 5,000 tonnes of cobalt contained in a battery-grade cobalt sulfate beginning in Q4 2022.
“The refinery will have installed instantaneous capacity to operate at 6,500 tonnes per year,” said the company.
In a nutshell, Electra’s battery park will have cobalt and nickel sulfate production plants, a large-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility, and battery precursor materials production, which will serve North American and global customers.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive