Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. (“Li-Cycle” or “the Company”), an industry leader in
lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery
recycler in North America, announced today that it has formed a joint
venture with ECO STOR AS (“ECO STOR”) and Morrow Batteries AS (“Morrow”).
Li-Cycle will be the majority owner of the joint venture, with ECO STOR and
Morrow being minority owners and Nordic-headquartered strategic partners.
Through this vehicle, Li-Cycle will construct a new commercial lithium-ion
battery recycling facility in southern Norway.
Norway has long been a leader in electric vehicle (EV) adoption and,
according to the Norwegian Automobile Federation, is on the path of phasing
out sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by April 2022. This
would be three years ahead of the 2025 target proposed by the Norwegian
government and could result in a significant, long-term supply of
end-of-life batteries. Li-Cycle expects it will be well-positioned to
ultimately recycle and bring these end-of-life batteries back into the
lithium-ion battery supply chain. Importantly, this is in addition to the
sustainable domestic supply of manufacturing scrap expected to be generated
in Norway as battery manufacturing capacity is increased by companies such
as Morrow.
Once constructed, the Norwegian Spoke will be Li-Cycle’s first recycling
facility outside of North America and is expected to have the capacity to
process up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year, including but
not limited to battery manufacturing scrap, full EV packs, and energy
storage systems. The facility is expected to be operational in early 2023.
The initiative brings together complementary parts of a circular and
sustainable value chain to the European market and brings Li-Cycle’s total
expected global recycling capacity (existing and under development) to
40,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery input per year.
“This is a significant step for Li-Cycle, as we deploy our proven
lithium-ion battery resource recovery solution to the European market and
execute on our global growth strategy with key industry partners,” said Ajay
Kochhar, President, CEO and co-founder of Li-Cycle. “Norway’s early
leadership in EV adoption and ecosystem is a beacon for electrification
globally, creating a robust market for both battery manufacturing scrap and
end-of-life batteries domestically. Together with our new partners, we
believe we are well positioned to capitalize on this meaningful
opportunity.”
Subject to the parties entering into mutually acceptable definitive
services, off-take and related agreements, ECO STOR will provide the joint
venture with end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, along with Morrow providing
lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap from its planned battery
manufacturing facilities in Norway. Li-Cycle will provide equipment,
technology, technical services, and operational management for the Spoke
facility, while having the right to acquire 100% of the facility’s
production of black mass. The parties are currently finalizing the site for
the Spoke; construction and commissioning of the Spoke remains subject to
receipt of all necessary Norwegian regulatory approvals.
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, ECO STOR, a portfolio company of Norwegian
utility company Agder Energi, is a leading second-life energy storage
development business focused on converting used lithium-ion batteries into
energy storage systems. ECO STOR’s proprietary methodology introduces a
complete solution for developers, builders, and homeowners looking for
low-cost and energy-efficient storage.
“As a leading supplier of energy storage solutions in Norway, ECO STOR has
pioneered the development of technologies that enable widespread deployment
of second life EV batteries,” commented Trygve Burchardt, CEO of ECO STOR.
“Providing batteries with a second life is a significant step on the path to
delivering stable, clean, renewable energy and we are pleased to provide a
complete recycling solution through our new partnership.”
Headquartered in Arendal, Norway, Morrow Batteries is building up
world-class battery cell manufacturing with an annual capacity of 43 GWh,
utilizing 100% renewable hydroelectric power to ensure the lowest possible
CO2 footprint.
“Localizing the full battery supply chain to Norway’s ‘battery coast’ and
South Norway is key to driving down our cell production cost, while
simultaneously delivering the world’s most sustainable batteries,” said
Terje Andersen, CEO of Morrow Batteries. “This partnership will develop a
closed material loop ecosystem supporting European customers and will ensure
we continue to deliver value from battery materials through re-use and
recycling over the long term.”
In support of executing the Norway Spoke, Koch Engineered Solutions (KES)
has been engaged to construct, test, and ship the modular Spoke facility.
This is an outcome of Koch and Li-Cycle exploring collaboration on key
strategic capabilities across the Koch ecosystem, following the previously
announced investment in Li-Cycle by Koch Strategic Platforms.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Li-Cycle to advance this exciting project
in the circular economy value chain,” said Brian Boster, President of
Optimized Process Designs (OPD), an engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) capability in KES. “Advancing innovation in the battery
recycling/recovery space adds direct long-term value to our partners and
helps ensure a future sustainable battery ecosystem.”
About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.
Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub
TechnologiesT to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for
lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of critical battery
materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our
world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other
industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology
and supply chain innovations to better manage battery manufacturing waste
and end-of-life batteries and to meet the rapidly growing demand for
critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop
solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.
About Morrow Batteries AS.
Morrow’s ambition is to develop and manufacture the world’s most
cost-effective and most sustainable battery cells. The company’s vision is
to enable and accelerate the green energy transition through smart cell
chemistries, and energy saving cell production processes. Morrow’s vision is
to create sustainable batteries based on renewable hydroelectric power,
local sourcing and closed loop recycling. Morrow Batteries was founded in
2020 by strong, committed owners and the company’s Management. Leading
investors are Agder Energi Venture, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agder
Energi, NOAH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjelsten Holding, and the Danish
pension fund PKA.
About ECO STOR AS.
Eco Stor AS manufactures high-performance, low-cost Energy Storage systems
for residential, industrial and grid connected applications. Based in Oslo,
the business uses complete, second-life electric vehicle batteries to create
energy storage systems that minimize environmental impact while offering
industry-leading safety, performance and reliability. The company was
established in 2018 to commercialize its management team’s 50+ years of
experience, intellectual property and knowledge in energy storage system
development. In 2019, Agder Energi Ventures invested in the company and have
subsequently become the majority shareholder.
More Stories
The 20th anniversary of Automechanika Shanghai closes with record-breaking exhibitor and visitor participation
Intellias partners with 3SS to Showcase Multimedia Integration Capabilities in Automotive HMI Systems
CarbonX secures new funding to build resilient battery supply chains