The U.S. Department of Energy has issued $725 million to six U.S. lithium-ion battery recycling projects, including two companies that will bring in batteries from consumer electronics.
The agency on Sept. 20 announced the funding as part of a wider $3 billion round of battery-focused investment, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It’s the second round of funding the Department of Energy has issued specifically targeting the domestic battery supply chain. Three of the latest recipient companies – American Battery Technology Corporation, Ascend Elements and Cirba Materials – also received funding during the first round, which was issued in October 2022.
Two of the projects directly state they will bring in lithium-ion batteries removed from consumer devices, providing potential new downstream outlets for e-scrap processors:
Cirba Solutions will receive $200 million for a new battery recycling facility in Columbia, South Carolina, capable of processing 60,000 short tons of lithium-ion batteries per year, including those recovered from consumer electronics. Other supply sources will include end-of-life electric vehicles, energy storage systems and production scrap.
In a statement, Cirba said the facility will mark its seventh U.S. location. CEO David Klanecky said the federal money “provides us with a vital opportunity to increase capacity through the sourcing and processing of these critical materials in a responsible and sustainable way.”
Blue Whale Materials will receive $55 million to expand the capacity of its existing Bartlesville, Oklahoma, battery recycling plant, from the current 14,000 metric tons per year up to a projected 50,000 metric tons per year. DOE noted the facility plans to take in both electric vehicle and consumer device-sourced batteries, as well as production scrap. The company has an additional e-scrap industry connection: It has signed a deal with nonprofit e-scrap processor Blue Star Recyclers, which is known for its founding mission to employ people with disabilities in electronics recovery jobs.
Four other recycling projects are geared toward electric vehicle batteries, production scrap or other sources:
Ascend Elements will receive $125 million to construct a Hopkinsville, Kentucky, facility that will recover graphite from other lithium-ion battery recycling operations and convert it into new battery-grade graphite. DOE noted most residual graphite generated during the recycling process is sold for heat recovery at “very low value,” so the Ascend project aims to raise its value and get that graphite back into new batteries.
LI industries will receive $55 million to retool a former manufacturing plant to recycle lithium-ion batteries, using technology developed with support from General Motors. Located in Kettering, Ohio, the plant has a projected capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year.
Clarios Circular Solutions will receive $150 million to retrofit an existing facility to enable production scrap recycling of cathode materials. The facility will receive battery production scrap from electric vehicle battery producer SK On, which has multiple manufacturing locations in the U.S., and use it to produce 20,000 metric tons per year of cathode materials.
American Battery Technology Company will receive $150 million to go towards construction of a new commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling plant in South Carolina. The facility will process 100,000 metric tons of batteries per year from “battery manufacturer and automotive OEM partners,” DOE stated.
