RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc., formerly American Manganese Inc., a battery materials company focused on the development of novel and environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery recycling and upcycling technologies, and its R&D partner Kemetco Research Inc., provides an operational update on the RecycLiCo hydrometallurgical demonstration plant in Vancouver, Canada. Since its commissioning earlier this year, the Demo Plant has verified a 163% increase in actual leach processing capacity over the 500 kg/day planned capacity and 99% leach extraction efficiency of lithium-ion battery cathode waste material using RecycLiCo’s patented closed-loop process.
The Company has since achieved similar success in recent impurity removal and co-precipitation stages of ongoing Demo Plant testing. The Demo Plant has now advanced to the next stage of the RecycLiCo patented process to demonstrate lithium recovery at demo-scale. To serve a broader market and meet the needs of multiple potential partners, the Company will continue testing at the Demo Plant with feedstock materials such as different cathode production scrap and black mass. At the same time, it will be expanding its offering of next-generation, battery-ready cathode precursor and lithium products to supplement RecycLiCo’s current lineup of unique products, which continue to be shipped to potential partners for advanced product qualification and assembly in battery cells.
The Demo Plant is a platform for further expansion and accelerating RecycLiCo’s commercialization strategy. Therefore, in parallel with the Demo Plant’s testing, an engineering study is being prepared for the design and construction of a commercial-scale plant that meets industry needs. “The build-out and diligent testing of our demo-scale operation has kept pace with the battery recycling market’s demands and enabled us to de-risk our future commercial expansion efforts,” commented Zarko Meseldzija, CEO and Director of RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. “This has put us in a favorable position to adapt with the market, collaborate with potential partners in developing next-generation recycling and upcycling solutions that serve a broader market, and to potentially secure long-term partnerships.”