Cirba Solutions selected for $200M award negotiations with DOE

Battery recycler Cirba Solutions, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been selected to enter into award negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for up to $200 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the company’s planned lithium-ion battery (LIB) processing facility in Columbia, South Carolina.

Cirba Solutions says the facility will manufacture battery-grade salts to support the growing electric vehicle (EV) market. The funding, which was announced by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), is aimed at expanding the battery recycling capabilities in the U.S. while working toward the goal of creating a domestic closed-loop supply chain for critical materials.

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The South Carolina facility will recycle LIBs obtained from end-of-life EVs, energy storage systems, end-of-life consumer materials and manufacturing scrap from cell producers and automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), according to Cirba Solutions. When fully operational, the company says the site will be capable of processing more than 60,000 tons of batteries per year, providing enough battery-grade salts for approximately 500,000 EV batteries annually.

The company says it expects the 200-acre battery materials campus to create more than 300 full-time generational jobs and more than 650 construction jobs for the Columbia region.

“We’re in the midst of a manufacturing revival in the United States as the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda continues to breathe new life into communities and local economies across the country,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm says. “By positioning the U.S. at the forefront of advanced battery manufacturing, we are creating high-paying jobs and strengthening our global economic leadership and domestic energy security, all while supporting the clean energy transition.”

Cirba Solutions says it is committed to the local communities that it operates in, adding that it provides competitive wages and a strong benefits package for its employees. As part of its dedication to the Columbia region, the company says it will engage in a variety of initiatives, including partnering with local schools, increasing access and information to battery recycling and hosting recycling events.

“This project advances the growth trajectory Cirba Solutions is on, working to expand lithium-ion recycling capacity in order to achieve a closed-loop domestic supply chain,” Cirba Solutions President and CEO David Klanecky says. “The funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides us with a vital opportunity to increase capacity through the sourcing and processing of these critical materials in a responsible and sustainable way. It will help strengthen our nation’s supply chains, accelerate accessibility to critical battery-grade metals for new battery production and help to establish our country as a true competitor in the global battery industry, all while enhancing energy independence and national security.”

The South Carolina development will be Cirba Solutions’ seventh operational facility.