Electra Battery Materials will begin commissioning a battery materials recycling demonstration plant at its refinery complex in Ontario.
Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ: ELBM) (TSXV: ELBM) (“Electra”) will begin black mass recycling at its battery materials park north of Toronto after successful materials feed processing and lime installation. announced that it has started commissioning a demonstration plant. The delivery system is his two key circuits in Electra’s hydrometallurgical process designed to recycle used lithium-ion battery materials.
Trent MelCEO of Electra Battery Materials, said:
Automakers are looking for a closed-loop supply chain for their batteries, and Electra’s recycling process offers a compelling solution for moving to a circular model for recycling end-of-life batteries and battery manufacturing scrap. .
“Consistent with our strategy, the integration of battery material recycling into our refinery cobalt sulfate production activities will not only serve as a key differentiator, but will also serve as a key differentiator for the diverse interests that make up EVs in North America. It allows us to generate incremental cash flow while strengthening relationships with our stakeholders: the supply chain.”
Mel added: “Until completion of the demonstration plant and review of project economics, if successful, existing infrastructure, personnel and testing facilities within Ontario’s Battery Materials Park.
“As the market for recycled battery materials grows, additional capacity will be added by building additional modules.”
Elektra is currently retrofitting an existing cobalt sulfate smelter in Themiscumming Shores, Ontario, designed to process black mass, a by-product produced from the recycling of end-of-life EVs and other lithium-ion batteries. It is compatible with a unique hydrometallurgical process.
Under black mass demonstration parameters, Electra is expected to process up to 75 tons of material in batch mode. Electra hopes to use a laboratory-tested process to recover high-value elements found in lithium-ion batteries, including nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper and graphite.
Electra also expects all equipment and circuits for the black mass recycling demonstration to be fully operational in the fall of 2022, and the cobalt sulfate refinery to be fully operational in the spring of 2023. Plant and commissioning efforts.
In preparation for the Black Lump Demonstration Plant, Electra completed process development and engineering for the recycling of black nugget materials. Electra has previously sourced black mass samples from suppliers in North America, Europe and Asia, studied the properties of the raw materials and developed hydrometallurgical process routes to recover the lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and graphite contained therein. .
Testing work was performed using the facilities of SGS Labs in Lakefield, Ontario, and engineering combined the resources of Electra technical personnel supported by process design engineers from Hatch Associates and mechanical and electrical engineering support from Bestech. Done using
Electra’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process produces stable, non-acid-generating tailings with a low carbon footprint, thus reducing environmental impact while meeting wastewater discharges mandated by both federal and state regulations. meet or exceed standards.
Electra has completed a benchmark study to demonstrate that the carbon intensity of cradle-to-gate battery-grade nickel sulfate produced from recycled black ingots using a hydrometallurgical process in a low-carbon power grid exceeds that of other supplies, including Class 1 nickel metal. Indicates lower than option. , nickel mixed hydroxide precipitates or ferronickel.
Furthermore, the carbon intensity of nickel sulphate produced from black ingots recycled at Elektra’s refineries, which use hydropower as the main energy source, is higher than that of mixed hydroxide precipitation when the energy source relies on hydropower. less than 50% of the carbon intensity of nickel sulphate produced from About non-renewable energy such as coal-powered electricity.
The refinery’s primary power source is hydroelectric power from the Ontario Power Station, which has near-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
About Electra Battery Materials
Electra is a processor of ethically sourced, low carbon battery materials. Electra, which currently operates North America’s only cobalt sulfate refinery, is executing a multipronged strategy focused on onshoring his chain of electric vehicle supply.
Key to its strategy are the integration of black mass recycling and nickel sulfate production at the Elektra smelter north of Toronto, the advancement of Iron Creek, a cobalt copper exploration stage project in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and the sulfuric acid to Becancourt, Quebec. Expansion of cobalt treatment. For more information, please visit www.ElectraBMC.com.
Electra will begin commissioning a battery materials recycling demonstration plant at the Ontario Refinery Complex in Toronto on October 13, 2022.
