Phoenix, Arizona — Canadian startup Li-Cycle Corp. plans a third battery-recycling facility in North America, doubling its capacity in the region as the global electric-vehicle boom gathers momentum.
The centre, to be located near Phoenix, will be capable of processing up to 10,000 metric tons of end-of-life batteries and battery-manufacturing scrap per year, said Li-Cycle; about 20,000 electric vehicles, according to Tim Johnston, Li-Cycle’s co-founder and executive chairman.
The site will be able to directly process full EV packs without any dismantling. It’s specifically designed to handle large-format batteries, typically 500-kilogram packs, according to Johnston.
This “is a significant step forward” as the industry currently relies on a “heavy level of dismantling” of battery cells, he said in an interview.
