Electra Battery Materials stays on cobalt recycling track

Toronto-based Electra Battery Materials Corp. says trials at its cobalt refinery located north of that city “remains on track to meet project timelines, including the launch of a black mass recycling demonstration.”

Trent Mell, CEO of Electra, says, “Electra continues to build momentum. We are excited by the continued progress at our refinery and the prospects of our upcoming black mass recycling demonstration plant. Building upon successful metallurgical testing and engineering work, and the receipt and installation of key pieces of equipment, we anticipate launching our battery recycling demonstration plant at the Ontario refinery site this fall.”

He adds, “The plant demonstration, which will be conducted in concert with ongoing commissioning efforts at the refinery, is expected to produce five marketable products. Revenue generated from black mass recycling activities will be accretive to results expected from the sale of cobalt sulfate that is anticipated beginning in spring 2023 when the refinery is commissioned.”

Electra describes itself as a processor of low-carbon battery materials. In addition to the cobalt sulfate refinery, the company also is involved in a mining project in Idaho and a cobalt sulfate processing facility in Quebec. 

Electra says it has completed process development and engineering on recycling black mass material, a byproduct generated by the end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and other recycled lithium-based battery sources.

The company says the hydrometallurgical process it has developed can recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and graphite contained in black mass.

In the demonstration stage, Electra says it plans to process up to 75 metric tons of material.