Electra Battery Materials Corporation (NASDAQ: ELBM; TSX-V:
ELBM) (“Electra”, or the “Company”) announced
today that it has successfully recovered lithium, a critical
mineral needed for the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain,
in its black mass recycling trial being conducted at its refinery
north of Toronto. The recovery and subsequent production of a
technical-grade lithium carbonate product in a plant-scale setting
validates Electra’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process and
efforts to date in commissioning its larger refinery complex.
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Lithium carbonate produced by Electra in
its black mass recycling trial (Photo: Business Wire)
“Recovering lithium from black mass represents a potential game
changer for Electra and the North American EV supply chain,” said
Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery Materials. “Recycling lithium
from expired batteries through hydrometallurgy lowers the carbon
footprint of manufacturing electric vehicles and represents an
important source of future supply for a commodity whose demand is
expected to grow significantly in the coming years. From Electra’s
perspective, it considerably strengthens the economics of our
battery recycling strategy by providing another high-value product
we can sell.”
Mr. Mell added, “Successfully demonstrating our lithium recovery
process in a plant-scale environment supports our plans to
commercialize our process with our industry partners and is a
testament to efforts of Electra’s technical team.”
“Our refinery team, combined with our consulting engineering
partners, achieved a significant milestone in proving up our
hydrometallurgical process for treating black mass,” said Mark
Trevisiol, Electra’s Vice President of Project Development. “We
achieved these outstanding results in less than two years, going
from bench-scale laboratory testing to plant scale production.”
Black mass is the industry term used to describe the material
remaining once expired lithium-ion batteries are shredded and all
casings removed. Black mass contains high-value elements, including
lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, and graphite, that once
recovered, can be recycled to produce new lithium-ion
batteries.
Established North American battery recyclers have focused on
collecting and shredding of batteries with the resulting black mass
material primarily treated by a pyrometallurgical smelting process
that has a higher carbon footprint and lower metal recoveries than
hydrometallurgical processes.
Recycling black mass will increasingly become a key feature of
the EV battery supply chain given the strong demand for critical
minerals and the looming supply deficit of metals such as nickel
and cobalt. According to data from McKinsey & Company,
available battery material for recycling is expected to grow by 20%
per year through 2040.
Electra launched its black mass demonstration plant at the end
of December 2022, and has processed material in a batch mode,
successfully extracting lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper,
and graphite.
As disclosed previously, Electra has decided to extend its black
mass processing and recovery activities through June 2023, beyond
the Company’s initial target of 75 tonnes, as a result of
preliminary results achieved to date and interest expressed by
potential commercial partners.
The total amount of material to be processed and recovered
through June will be determined in the coming weeks. The Company
has identified multiple sources of supply, and is in discussions on
terms and conditions with vendors.
All of Electra’s recovered material will be sold to third-party
companies for additional processing and re-use in a number of
applications.
About Electra Battery Materials
Electra is a processor of low-carbon, ethically-sourced battery
materials. Currently commissioning North America’s only cobalt
sulfate refinery, Electra is executing a multipronged strategy
focused on onshoring the electric vehicle supply chain. Keys to its
strategy are integrating black mass recycling and nickel sulfate
production at Electra’s refinery located north of Toronto,
advancing Iron Creek, its cobalt-copper exploration-stage project
in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and expanding cobalt sulfate processing
into Bécancour, Quebec. For more information visit
www.ElectraBMC.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information (together, “forward-looking
statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws and
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of terminology such as “plans”,
“expects', “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes” or
variations of such words, or statements that certain actions,
events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “occur” or “be
achieved”. Such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding the attributes of the Notes, the
closing date of the Note Offering, the listing of the underlying
Common Shares and the expected use of proceeds of the Offering.
Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results, performance, and
opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set
forth in the management discussion and analysis and other
disclosures of risk factors for Electra Battery Materials
Corporation, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov. Although Electra Battery Materials Corporation
believes that the information and assumptions used in preparing the
forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should
not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date
of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such
events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except
where required by applicable law, Electra Battery Materials
Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230313005237/en/
Joe Racanelli Vice President, Investor Relations
info@ElectraBMC.com 1.416.900.3891
Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ:ELBM)
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