Electra Battery Materials is taking a deep dive into studying whether it can make a go of it with a battery recycling plant, possibly in Temiskaming.
The aspiring Toronto-based cobalt refiner announced Jan. 28 that it’s starting feasibility and engineering studies that will shed more light on what a commercial-scale ‘black mass’ recycling facility in northeastern Ontario might look like.
Black mass is the material left over after spent lithium-ion batteries are shredded and the casings removed. Electra has come up with a technology that can recover the valuable metals like nickel, cobalt and graphite, which can recycled and used to make new batteries.
Since 2023, the company has been running a demonstration-scale recycling plant at its refinery site property, north of the town of Cobalt, where Electra has been building a cobalt processing plant.
While Electra has been struggling to raise cash to finish construction of the cobalt refinery, battery recycling stands to become a lucrative side hustle. Most of this kind of processing is done overseas, in Asia.
With a year’s worth of black mass trials under its belt, Electra said in a news release that it’s successfully produced a “technical grade lithium and a nickel and cobalt product from end of life lithium batteries.”
About 40 tonnes of the material has been shipped out in sample batches to prospective customers, presumably to manufacturers in the North America electric vehicle battery sector, the industries with which Electra said it’s been holding discussions.
To help build a battery shredding plant, Electra entered into a joint venture partnership last year with the Indigenous-owned Three Fires Group, a southwestern Ontario economic development entity.
Three Fires’ role would be select and build a shredding plant, preferably near some of the battery manufacturers in the south. The initial plan is for the black mass material to be shipped north to Temiskaming where the metals would be recovered. Electra has provided no word if a site has been selected.
Last year, Electra pocketed $5 million from Natural Resources Canada to take the recycling project to the next stage with a more scalable operation that can possibly be implemented at various locations.
“It builds on the knowledge gained from our previous 40-tonne demonstration plant and allows us to optimize our processes for a scalable commercial operation,” said Mark Trevisiol, Electra’s vice president of project development, in a statement.
“As a first mover in North American cobalt sulfate production, we are leveraging our expertise in the domestic refining of black mass and further solidifying our leadership in sustainable battery material solutions.”
For the engineering and feasibility studies, Electra has turned to an expert in the field for some guidance. Assisting them will be Green Li-ion, a U.S. battery recycling technology company, which operates a black mass processor in Atoka, Oklahoma. Electra may consider buying equipment from them.
Electra did not provide a date in its news release on when these studies will be finished.
In a management’s discussion and analysis document from last fall, Electra claims black mass recycling is fast becoming more important for the electric vehicle supply chain due the supply shortage of critical minerals like nickel and cobalt. McKinsey & Company predicts that available battery materials for recycling will grow by 20 per cent per year through 2040.
Electra’s main goal is to become North America’s first cobalt processor. Cobalt is the vital ingredient in electric vehicle batteries. The company has been refurbishing and expanding the former Yukon refinery in the Temiskaming area, but is short of cash to finish construction.
Electra’s raw material feed would come from mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded US$20 million to Electra last summer for the cobalt refinery, but the company needs US$60 million to finish the job.
Electra manage did not immediately respond to questions from Northern Ontario Business regarding any construction activity at its refinery in North Cobalt, its timeline toward startup, and any updates on any talks to lure strategic public or private investors aboard.
