ABTC enters black mass purchase agreement with domestic customer

Reno, Nevada-based battery recycler American Battery Technology Co. (ABTC) recently entered into a direct binding agreement for the purchase of its accumulated recycled black mass material by an undisclosed domestic customer from its lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling facility.

ABTC began operations at its first commercial LIB recycling plant in October 2023, utilizing a unique set of recycling processes based on a strategic demanufacturing approach that uses a deconstruction process combined with a targeted selective hydrometallurgical process. The company says the system is agnostic to feedstock form factors and can process LIBs and manufacturing scrap of a variety of sizes and shapes, and with a wide range of internal chemistries.

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The first phase of ABTC’s recycling process produces recycled products including copper, aluminum, steel, a lithium intermediate and a black mass intermediate material, while the second phase further refines these materials into battery-grade nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate and lithium hydroxide. The company says the second phase of its recycling system currently is being implemented.

According to ABTC, it previously considered marketing its black mass intermediate material throughout the world but made it a strategic priority to sell its products domestically to ensure they facilitate the establishment of a North American closed-loop circular battery metals supply chain.

“We are proud to have manufactured bulk quantities of high nickel and cobalt content recycled black mass material at our commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility,” ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert says. “In accordance with our corporate principles, we strongly prefer to sell our recycled materials into the North American battery supply chain in order to facilitate the establishment of closed-loop domestic operations, as opposed to exporting these critical minerals abroad.

"We also are proud to have established strong relationships with domestic customers that allow us to sell these recycled products directly as opposed to indirectly through brokers.”