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Released January 27, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Building up a domestic U.S. supply chain for critical minerals such as lithium carbonate could be supported by recycling everyday batteries, lithium-focused Li-Cycle (Toronto, Ontario) said.
Lithium compounds are sought-after materials in a global economy slowly moving away from fossil fuels as they power everything from flashlight batteries to the batteries that power electric vehicles. The United States, however, is dependent on foreign suppliers for many materials, such as China, a top adversary.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden had worked to stimulate the domestic industry during his tenure through incentives and tariffs on imports. Boosting the domestic supply chain, the government in October gave a permit to Ioneer Limited (Sydney, Australia) to start work at its Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.
The $640 million facility would boast net production to 20 million tons of material per day. An on-site production plant would yield more than 20,600 tons per year of lithium carbonate, which could yield enough lithium for 370,000 electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
U.S. President Donald Trump began his second non-consecutive term in the White House by signing hundreds of executive orders, including ones that included a focus on advancing critical minerals at home "contingent on the availability of appropriated funds."
But that was enough for Li-Cycle, a company in pursuit of battery-recycling technology.
"This comprehensive policy shift, aimed at enhancing domestic energy production and strengthening the U.S. energy landscape, aligns with Li-Cycle's mission to establish 'urban mining' for domestic battery resources and to bolster U.S. energy independence," the company said on Friday.
Once disposed, disassembled and shredded, recyclers can draw on the so-called black mass that's left over for sources of lithium, cobalt, manganese and other critical minerals. These materials can be extracted from the black mass and reused for new batteries or other applications.
Li-Cycle is one of the largest battery recyclers in North America, with operations in Toronto and New York. Its facility in Rochester could process as much as 35,000 tons of black mass per year for repurposing.
Subscribers can click here for the project report.
"Through the Rochester hub project, we intend to provide much needed post-processing recycling capacity, keeping these minerals in the U.S. and supporting America's mission to lead the production and processing of non-fuel minerals," said Li-Cycle President and Chief Executive Officer Ajay Kochhar. "Li-Cycle looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Department of Energy on this project that aims to enable domestic critical material recovery and production through 'urban mining'."
As with many of Trump's initiatives on energy, momentum depends in large part on the private sector and the global market. Proposed additional tariffs from his administration, meanwhile, could throttle demand because companies would simply transfer the extra cost of imports down to the consumer.
Electric vehicles need lithium to operate, though range-anxiety and sticker shock has curbed demand. Electric vehicles last year accounted for only 1% of the total vehicles on the road, prompting some automakers to scale back their ambitions.
Incentives, tariffs and other measures meant to stimulate the domestic supply chain may only do so much, however. In terms of actual mining, the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds most of the market value is concentrated in areas outside the United States, such as Latin America and East Asia.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Lithium compounds are sought-after materials in a global economy slowly moving away from fossil fuels as they power everything from flashlight batteries to the batteries that power electric vehicles. The United States, however, is dependent on foreign suppliers for many materials, such as China, a top adversary.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden had worked to stimulate the domestic industry during his tenure through incentives and tariffs on imports. Boosting the domestic supply chain, the government in October gave a permit to Ioneer Limited (Sydney, Australia) to start work at its Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.
The $640 million facility would boast net production to 20 million tons of material per day. An on-site production plant would yield more than 20,600 tons per year of lithium carbonate, which could yield enough lithium for 370,000 electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
U.S. President Donald Trump began his second non-consecutive term in the White House by signing hundreds of executive orders, including ones that included a focus on advancing critical minerals at home "contingent on the availability of appropriated funds."
But that was enough for Li-Cycle, a company in pursuit of battery-recycling technology.
"This comprehensive policy shift, aimed at enhancing domestic energy production and strengthening the U.S. energy landscape, aligns with Li-Cycle's mission to establish 'urban mining' for domestic battery resources and to bolster U.S. energy independence," the company said on Friday.
Once disposed, disassembled and shredded, recyclers can draw on the so-called black mass that's left over for sources of lithium, cobalt, manganese and other critical minerals. These materials can be extracted from the black mass and reused for new batteries or other applications.
Li-Cycle is one of the largest battery recyclers in North America, with operations in Toronto and New York. Its facility in Rochester could process as much as 35,000 tons of black mass per year for repurposing.
Subscribers can click here for the project report.
"Through the Rochester hub project, we intend to provide much needed post-processing recycling capacity, keeping these minerals in the U.S. and supporting America's mission to lead the production and processing of non-fuel minerals," said Li-Cycle President and Chief Executive Officer Ajay Kochhar. "Li-Cycle looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Department of Energy on this project that aims to enable domestic critical material recovery and production through 'urban mining'."
As with many of Trump's initiatives on energy, momentum depends in large part on the private sector and the global market. Proposed additional tariffs from his administration, meanwhile, could throttle demand because companies would simply transfer the extra cost of imports down to the consumer.
Electric vehicles need lithium to operate, though range-anxiety and sticker shock has curbed demand. Electric vehicles last year accounted for only 1% of the total vehicles on the road, prompting some automakers to scale back their ambitions.
Incentives, tariffs and other measures meant to stimulate the domestic supply chain may only do so much, however. In terms of actual mining, the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds most of the market value is concentrated in areas outside the United States, such as Latin America and East Asia.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
