Battery materials plant opens in Oklahoma

Singapore-based hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery recycling technology provider Green Li-ion has provided equipment for what it says is the first commercial-scale plant of its kind in North America in Atoka, Oklahoma.

The plant will process discarded unsorted black mass made from shredded lithium-ion batteries and produce sustainable, battery-grade cathode precursor, lithium and anode materials, closing the electric vehicle (EV) recycling loop with the production done all in one plant.

The new production line is within an existing recycling facility and will produce precursor cathode active material (pCAM) as one end product using what Green Li-ion's “green hydrorejuvenation” technology.

“Green Li-ion’s installation closes a critical gap in the North American battery recycling supply chain,” Green Li-ion co-founder and CEO Leon Farrant says. “Electrification will require manufacturers to exert greater control over their critical mineral supplies. We aim to show American companies the benefits of a customizable and fully vertically integrated battery recycling solution when operating as part of an existing manufacturing process.”

Some other recycling processes for spent lithium-ion batteries in North America involve sorting batteries before shredding, with the sorted batteries then processed into black mass and then into sulfates. In many cases, the materials produced are then exported overseas, often to China and South Korea, for further processing.

“Green Li-ion’s patented technology utilizes a novel and advanced hydrometallurgical approach that closes the recycling loop by directly converting recycling scrap into battery-grade pCAM without being exported for further processing,” according to the company.

The company says its process also significantly reduces production time, yielding pCAM in around 12 hours.

Green Li-ion also says its technology offers environmental benefits, emitting up to 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with virgin materials processing.

The Oklahoma installation is the first plant on the continent capable of processing unsorted black mass of different lithium-ion battery chemistries into pCAM at commercial scale, ensuring 99 percent purity, according to Green Li-ion.

The company says the Atoka plant, like other Green Li-ion installations, is fully customizable, capable of producing materials meeting the specifications battery cell producers require and based on customers’ desired material output from the plant.

Green Li-ion touts this scaling or modularity as offering flexible options for manufacturers and recyclers to utilize its technology either through a licensing agreement that allows the plant to be installed in their own facilities or through a tolling agreement where they can send their black mass to Green Li-ion-owned plants for processing directly into battery materials.

Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. have made domestic battery recycling attractive thanks to tax credits for companies that manufacture batteries in the U.S. and credits for companies using recycled battery materials.

“Our plant in Atoka is a glimpse into the future of the battery recycling industry in North America,” says Stephen Hayward, vice president of operations at Green Li-ion. “The Inflation Reduction Act and business-friendly policies in Oklahoma have spurred innovation, and the state is proving to be the center of the re-growing manufacturing industry in the U.S.

“We aim to show original equipment manufacturers, diversified industrials with a battery recycling business unit and pure-play recyclers how working with Green Li-ion technology can help them capitalize on the trend toward electrification.”

“The Atoka City Industrial Development Authority (ACIDA) is excited to include Green Li-ion as a valued community partner situated within our Atoka Heavy Industrial Park,” ACIDA Director Carol Ervin says. “By using local suppliers and vendors and working with [a regional] technology center, they have made a substantial contribution to the expansion of the private sector and job opportunities in Atoka."

Green Li-ion anticipates the plant in Atoka will be able to process 2 metric tons of black mass per day*, the equivalent of 72,000 smartphone batteries. The company has plans to quadruple the current capacity within one year.

*This article originally misstated that the plant would produce 2 metric tons of pCAM per year.