“Aki Battery Recycling goals to deal with the environmental impression of future battery waste in Ontario and past, by returning battery scrap again into the availability chain,” Electra CEO Trent Mell mentioned in a launch on Wednesday. “This enterprise not solely aligns with our mission to onshore North America’s EV battery provide chain, however to take action sustainably and thru a scalable answer to satisfy the rising wants of the North American electrical car trade.”
The JV comes virtually one month after Electra acquired a $20 million funding from america’ Division of Protection to assist it develop its cobalt refinery in Temiskaming Shores, about 500 km north of Toronto. Simply final week, it acquired a bid for a further $20 million funding from an unnamed get together for the refinery, anticipated to be the primary of its variety in North America.
Electra shares gained 7.3% to C$0.88 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing the corporate at C$50.3 million ($37m). Its shares traded in a 52-week vary of C$0.41 to C$0.98.
Indigenous participation
Electra and Three Fires will work collectively to supply and course of the battery waste from producers to supply black mass at a brand new plant to be inbuilt southern Ontario.
Three Fires, based mostly on the Kettle and Stony Level First Nation on Lake Huron, is to guide the capital elevating for the recycling facility in addition to figuring out its location. Electra will present technical and industrial management. The proposed plant’s price or location weren’t instantly clear.
“Aki Battery Recycling will present a full-circle answer together with a brand new major recycling facility situated in southern Ontario to shred lithium-ion batteries, course of the scrap, and supply a gentle provide of black mass,” Reggie George, Three Fires’ govt director of particular tasks and partnerships, mentioned.
“With the billions of {dollars} being invested into the southern Ontario battery manufacturing trade, making certain that precious supplies are recovered and reused in Ontario, somewhat than discarded, is central to our shareholder First Nations’ pursuits.”
Battery recycling cycle
A number of electrical car and battery storage services are coming on-line throughout southwestern Ontario, similar to in Windsor and St. Thomas. The black mass is to be handled additional at Electra’s hydrometallurgical refinery in Temiskaming Shores to get well essential minerals similar to lithium, nickel and cobalt.
The restoration of these minerals will help shrink the carbon footprint of the EV provide chain and cut back reliance on international nations for essential minerals, Electra mentioned.
In 2023, Electra processed 40 tonnes of black mass at its Temiskaming Shores advanced to check its proprietary recycling course of. It’s believed to have been the primary plant-scale hydrometallurgical recycling of black mass materials in North America, and the primary home manufacturing of nickel-cobalt combined hydroxide precipitate product (MHP). Electra recovered MHP, lithium carbonate, graphite and different merchandise.