RecycleLiCo says Taiwan shredder up and running

The RecycLiCo Zenith Battery Materials Technology Co. joint venture (JV) site of Canadian company RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. has commissioned its shredding facility in Taiwan and is now processing off-spec battery materials purchased from a battery manufacturer and selling the resulting black mass.

The JV between RecycLiCo and Taiwan-based Zenith Chemical Corp. made its first shipment of black mass in late June and already has made arrangements for future shipments, according to the Canadian firm. Zenith Chemical focuses on the production of nickel-based chemicals, including high-purity nickel sulfate for lithium-ion batteries.

The shredding facility is a Stage 1 recycling plant, while the Stage 2 recycling plant will process manufacturing scrap-origin black powder and postconsumer-origin black mass is expected to begin production later this year.

“Project planning for the Stage 2 plant is in the advanced stages and Zenith Chemical is expected to commence site preparation shortly,” according to the JV. Additionally, RecycLiCo says it “will be supervising the construction in Vancouver of an expandable modular facility (initially 2,000 metric tons per year), which will be transported to and commissioned in Taiwan. Commissioning of the plant is anticipated in 2025.”

RecycLiCo says the technology deployed by the JV will be capable of processing black mass and black powder into products such as battery-grade lithium chemicals and precursor cathode active material (pCAM).

“This is the first step in RecycLiCo’s transition from a venture stage company into a revenue-generating global industrial enterprise," RecycLiCo interim CEO Richard Sadowsky says. "The entire RecycLiCo team is committed to this transition and the board of directors expects to take additional steps in that direction over the next few months.”