New Flyer and Li-Cycle partner on battery recycling

New Flyer Industries Canada ULC and New Flyer of America Inc. have completed a battery recycling pilot with lithium-ion battery recycler, Li-Cycle Corporation.

New Flyer provided Li-Cycle with 45 end-of-life lithium-ion battery modules (used for research and development) totaling 3,200 pounds to be processed at Li-Cycle’s Spoke facility and turned into black mass, which is then further refined to recover critical materials such as nickel and cobalt.

Li-Cycle offers a proprietary, closed loop lithium-ion battery resource recovery service producing minimal solid waste, and zero liquid and air emissions that can sustainably produce battery grade lithium, cobalt, and nickel products. The pilot is Li-Cycle’s first program in the heavy duty vehicle space.

“As our customers transition to zero-emission mobility, they do so with a focus on cradle to grave sustainability. The demand for battery recycling is growing, so too is the desire to lessen environmental impact on our communities. Our pilot with Li-Cycle is delivering just this and we are optimistic in offering battery recycling in future,” said Chris Stoddart, president of New Flyer.

“We’re committed to providing sustainable mobility solutions from procurement through vehicle retirement. Working with Li-Cycle delivers a triple sustainability benefit: we recover critical resources and divert them from landfills, provide them for re-use in the battery supply chain, and do so through Li-Cycle’s proprietary clean recycling process that minimizes impact to surrounding environments.”

Li-Cycle’s technologies recover 95% of all lithium-ion battery materials – extracting high-grade materials for battery reproduction, at a cost lower than mined and refined material. Its wet-chemistry process requires lower energy consumption than traditional high temperature processes and is fully sustainable with no solid or liquid waste and zero impact air emissions.

Sustainable transport

“We are thrilled to work with New Flyer in spearheading closed-loop resource recovery of electric bus batteries. As of 2019, approximately 425,000 of the world’s buses are electric, and our goal is to support the growth of electrification with solutions to end-of-life challenges associated with lithium-ion batteries,” said Kunal Phalpher, chief commercial officer, Li-Cycle.

“This pilot program demonstrates how Li-Cycle is supporting the transition to sustainable transport, serving the dual purpose of reducing hazardous waste while recovering critical materials so they can be reintroduced into the supply chain. We are excited to work with New Flyer in closing the loop for electric bus products.”

New Flyer and Li-Cycle are both members of CALSTART, an international nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the pace of clean technology and the adoption of clean transportation.

New Flyer operates the Vehicle Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and motor coach technology and providing essential workforce development through electric bus training, now available online. New Flyer is testing automated vehicle technology and remains committed to the development of technology standards that deliver safe, clean, sustainable, connected mobility options to communities.