Li-Cycle opens plant in Arizona

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. has started operations at its plant in Gilbert, Arizona.

Li-Cycle’s Arizona Spoke facility processes full EV battery packs without dismantling them manually. The facility is located close to the company’s existing battery and manufacturing scrap supply network in the Southwestern United States.

EV supply chain

The company said it chose Arizona because of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain in the region, as well as its close proximity to large markets such as California, which are expected to produce an increasing supply of end-of-life batteries available for recycling from EVs, energy storage projects and consumer electronics.

Li-Cycle held a Grand Opening Event earlier in May 2022 at the 140,000-square-foot facility as it made its official debut. At the event, Li-Cycle was joined by its customers, local government officials, and others connected to the Gilbert community and surrounding area in celebration of a momentous occasion for Li-Cycle and the region’s lithium-ion battery supply chain.

“The launch of Li-Cycle’s innovative battery recycling facility bolsters Arizona’s already robust EV supply chain and sends a signal that Arizona is the place to be for electric batteries,” said Arizona governor Doug Ducey.

“Sustainable industries have found a home in Arizona, and few companies represent the innovation and possibilities that brings like Li-Cycle. We are proud to see Li-Cycle’s facility up and operational.”

Alabama next

Li-Cycle’s Alabama spoke, which is of the same design as the Arizona Spoke, is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2022. When both the Arizona and Alabama Spokes are operational, Li-Cycle will have a total processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year. By the end of 2023, the company expects to have a total of 65,000 tonnes of annual lithium-ion battery processing, across its spokes in North America and Europe.

The primary output product of the Arizona Spoke is black mass, consisting of a number of highly valuable critical metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which Li-Cycle will convert into battery-grade materials at its first North American Hub facility, which is under construction in Rochester, New York. Li-Cycle expects that the Hub will be capable of processing 35,000 tonnes of black mass annually, with targeted commissioning in 2023.