Heritage Battery Recycling to develop battery reuse, recycling facility in Southwest US

Heritage Battery Recycling (HBR) will collaborate with L.A.-based Romeo Power Inc., which provides electrification solutions for commercial applications, to develop a battery reuse and recycling facility in the southwestern United States.

The Heritage Group and Heritage Environmental Services Inc., based in Indianapolis, say they launched HBR in late 2020 to address growing market demand for safe, sustainable solutions for lithium-ion batteries near or at end-of-life. HBR's goal is to recover and reuse critical battery precursor resources.

Shane Thompson has been named president of HBR. He formerly was with Verdant Holdings and Call2Recycle.

"Shane is the right leader for Heritage Battery Recycling," says Jeff Laborsky, CEO of Heritage. "His extensive background in battery end-of-life management makes him one of the world's leading experts in this rapidly evolving industry. We are confident that Shane's strong business relationships and deep understanding of the battery value chain will quickly position Heritage Battery Recycling as a market leader in North America."

Thompson says, "We've reached an inflection point in the electrification of vehicles across North America, and as those spent battery units move to recycling or reuse opportunities, Heritage Battery Recycling will be ready to meet the demand."

"By working directly with Romeo Power, we have a unique opportunity to provide a safe, environmentally sound end-of-life strategy for commercial truck manufacturers, commercial fleet managers and conscientious business owners who are investing in clean energy today," Laborsky says.

"Romeo Power is thrilled to expand our end-to-end electrification strategy through the Heritage Battery Recycling facility," says Lionel Selwood Jr., CEO of Romeo Power. "We are committed to anticipating our customers' long-term needs as they transition to electrification, and HBR will provide them with a turnkey solution to repurpose end-of-life batteries safely and responsibly."

Heritage says it also has partnered with Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc., an Elgin, Illinois-based provider of parts cleaning, used oil re-refining and hazardous and nonhazardous waste services, to create efficiencies in transportation and logistics for HBR's battery collection operations across North America. Crystal Clean's network of 89 branch locations, logistic operations and customer relationships across the automotive sector position it as an optimal partner for HBR, Heritage says.

Heritage says through its business and that of Crystal Clean’s, HBR has access to more than 100,000 customer locations, 2,500 knowledgeable employees, a fleet of more than 1,300 power units and 108 facility locations across North America.

"The creation of Heritage Battery Recycling, and our partnership with Crystal Clean, reflects our 50-year legacy of pursuing sustainable solutions for our customers and further demonstrates our commitment to achieving our environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals," Laborsky says. "Our two companies together combine the strengths of Crystal Clean's advanced collection capabilities with Heritage's safe processing expertise."

Brian Recatto, president and CEO of Heritage-Crystal Clean, says the partnership with HBR furthers his company’s relationship with Heritage and demonstrates its “mission to provide environmentally sustainable solutions to our customers.”