Li-Cycle reports earnings, Rochester facility updates

Toronto-based lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle Corp. has released the financial and operating results for its fourth quarter and year ended Oct. 31, 2022.

The company reports a decrease in revenues from product sales and recycling services, down from $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and cites a decrease in metal prices—primarily cobalt—as offsetting higher black mass sales compared with 2021.

Li-Cycle’s fourth quarter revenues were down overall, too, with the company reporting $3.0 million in revenue for the period compared with $4.4 million in the same period in 2021. But full-year revenues were up from $7.3 million in 2021 to $13.4 million in the most recent quarter.

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“We are pleased by our strong fourth quarter operating performance as we brought on our third-generation Arizona and Alabama spokes, which have a first-of-its-kind full battery pack processing capabilities,” Li-Cycle President and CEO Ajay Kochhar says. “I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished in 2022, building strong momentum for our spoke and hub business in 2023 and beyond.”

Revenue from product sales and recycling services for the full year was up from $6.5 million in 2021 to $15.6 million in 2022, and Li-Cycle attributes the higher product revenue to increased production of black mass directly related to the expansion of its spoke operations.

In December 2021, Li-Cycle announced it would increase processing capacity at its commercial hub in Rochester, New York, expanding the input processing capacity of the facility to 35,000 metric tons of black mass annually, equivalent to nearly 90,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries annually. It also says the expansion will allow the facility to process battery material from the equivalent of about 225,000 electric vehicles per year.

The Rochester hub has made significant progress to date on key engineering, procurement and construction milestones, according to Li-Cycle. Through January, 90 percent of process equipment has been ordered 75 percent of the warehouse and associated administration center for storage of black mass and finished battery-grade material has been completed and 65 percent of detailed engineering has been completed.

The project also has seen progress in the construction of the cobalt, nickel and manganese process buildings and has largely completed civil works, underground utilities and electrical infrastructure. The company says these milestones are expected to keep the $486 million project on track to be completed by late this year.

Li-Cycle says the development of its spoke recycling capacity in North America and Europe continues to advance positively, adding that it has been able to position and prioritize capacity to the highest demand centers and mirror customer growth and timing.

The company expects to increase total operational capacity this year to more than 80,000 metric tons of lithium-ion battery material input per year compared with its current capacity of more than 50,000 metric tons per year.

According to Li-Cycle’s fourth-quarter financial results, operating expenses increased to $39.4 million in the 2022 period from $18.5 million in 2021, which it says reflects the ongoing expansion of its operations in North America and its continued buildout of the spoke network in Europe.