Blue Whale Materials to partner with Call2Recycle

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycler Blue Whale Materials (BWM), Washington, is partnering with battery stewardship organization Call2Recycle in an effort to advance LIB recycling in North America.

Per the agreement, BWM’s expanding sorting and recycling facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, will receive and process batteries brought into Atlanta-based Call2Recycle’s national network, which collects spent batteries across the United States.

According to the partners, the agreement will play a key role in meeting the urgent need for domestically sourced battery materials and represents a “pivotal step” in enhancing North America’s battery recycling efforts. The organizations say they will work to secure a consistent feedstock of spend LIBs to BWM’s advanced recycling facility.

“This collaboration will allow Blue Whale Materials to support Call2Recycle’s unmatched collection network and expand our ability to meet the growing demand for responsible lithium-ion battery recycling,” BWM co-founder and CEO Robert Kang says. “By partnering with the leading battery collection organization in North America, we’re ensuring that Blue Whale Materials has access to the feedstock necessary to drive our long-term mission of supporting a sustainable and secure battery supply chain.”

Call2Recycle says it is adding BWM as a sorting and processing partner, bringing its nationwide collection network to the partnership. BWM’s proprietary process turns collected batteries into Blacksand, a premium black mass that is essential for refiners and battery materials manufacturers. The Bartlesville facility already is operational for sorting and testing and will start processing by midyear.

“Our partnership with Blue Whale Materials is a natural fit,” Call2Recycle CEO Leo Raudys says. “With BWM’s cutting-edge technology and our expansive collection reach, we are setting the stage for a significant leap forward in battery recycling. Together, we will make a tangible impact on reducing waste and recovering valuable materials for future use.”

BWM recently received a contracted grant award of more than $55 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Program that the company is using to expand its Bartlesville facility.

The company says the expansion of its Blacksand facility is expected to create 150 permanent jobs and 180 construction jobs, with approximately $3 million of the grant going toward workforce development and community outreach through expanded partnership programs. BWM’s selection for grant funding is part of its $110 million expansion plans, which will allow the Bartlesville facility to process up to 50,000 tons of battery feedstock annually.