A new lithium battery recycling facility, established by operator Li-Cycle on a commercial basis at the well-known Eastman Business Park in New York State, answers both a growing need and an opportunity in an “unprecedented phase” of deployment, the company has said.

The Canadian company has previously penned a technical feature article for Energy-Storage.news and PV Tech Power on the science and technology underpinning its two-step process for recycling, claiming that 80% to 100% of battery recycling is possible through mechanical size reduction (shredding packs and cells) and then recovering materials through a hydrometallurgical process. Li-Cycle announced its first commercial shipment of recycled lithium battery materials to a customer at the beginning of this year.

Eastman Business Park in Rochester, New York, is also host to a number of other battery industry operations, including Kodak’s battery production centre. Li-Cycle representatives said via email that the announced facility will be a “spoke” of the companies operations (as opposed to a “hub”), with capacity to process 5,000 tonnes of spent lithium-ion batteries per year.

“The ‘Spoke’ technology transforms lithium-ion batteries into an inert, non-hazardous intermediate product consisting of the electrode material, while separating plastics and other metals contained in the battery for further downstream recycling by third parties,” the company’s representatives said in an exclusive commentary sent to Energy-Storage.news this week.

‘First step to addressing mass market global opportunity’
According to Li-Cycle, the Monroe County, Rochester, site location offers several strategic advantages including EBP’s on-site analytical labs, with trade association / technology accelerator NY BEST also hosting some R&D, testing and innovation facilities at the park. Being in New York also gives good access to battery materials from EVs, portable electronics and energy storage from a broad area of the US, from the Midwest through to the Northeast.