RecycLiCo Battery Materials’ CEO to step down

RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc., headquartered in Canada, has announced that Zarko Meseldzija will step down from his roles as CEO and as a member of the board.

The board has begun searching for a successor to lead the company in its goal to become a leading supplier of sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling technology.

Meseldzija will remain with RecycLiCo through Feb. 29 and will assist with the transition process. The company says the transition is not expected to have any adverse impact on its project timelines or day-to-day operations.

“Zarko has been an integral part of RecycLiCo's journey," Board Chairman Paul Hildebrand says. "We are grateful for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Meseldzija joined RecycLiCo as a consultant in late 2017 before becoming chief technical officer in the summer of 2018. He was named to the board in March 2020 and became CEO in September 2022.   

Before joining the company, he worked as an engineer for Sepro Mineral Systems and Suncor Energy. Previously, Meseldzija was an operations engineer and mine performance analyst at KMC Mining.

RecycLiCo has developed technologies that recover battery-grade materials from lithium-ion batteries with what it says are minimal processing steps and up to 99 percent extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. The patented hydrometallurgical process turns lithium-ion battery scrap into battery-grade cathode precursor, lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate for direct integration into the remanufacturing of new lithium-ion batteries.

In late 2023, RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. received investment approval from the Taiwan Department of Investment Review for its 50/50 joint venture with Taiwan-based Zenith Chemical Corp. The joint venture company, named RecycLiCo Zenith Battery Materials Technology Co., solidifies a partnership in the company’s expansion within the Asian market.

Also in December of last year, the European Patent Office issued an official communication indicating its intention to grant the company’s first of two patent applications for its lithium-ion battery recycling process.