TORONTO, Oct. 13,
2022 /PRNewswire/ - Electra Battery Materials
Corporation (NASDAQ: ELBM) (TSXV: ELBM) ("Electra") today
announced the start of commissioning of its black mass recycling
demonstration plant at its battery materials park located north of
Toronto following the successful
installation of material feed handling and lime delivery systems,
two key circuits in Electra's hydrometallurgical process designed
to recycle end of life lithium-ion battery materials.
"Automakers are looking for a closed-loop supply chain for their
batteries and Electra's recycling process presents a compelling
solution to move to a circular model for recycling end-of-life
batteries and battery manufacturing scrap," said Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery
Materials. "Consistent with our strategy, integrating battery
materials recycling to our cobalt sulfate production activities at
our refinery will not only serve as an important differentiator but
will allow us to generate incremental cash flow while strengthening
our relationships with various stakeholders that make up the North
American EV supply chain."
Mr. Mell added, "Pending completion of the demonstration plant
and a review of project economics, success could pave the way
towards the buildout of a 5,000 tonne per annum black mass
processing facility within our battery materials park in
Ontario using existing
infrastructure, personnel, and lab facility. Additional capacity
would be added through construction of additional modules as the
market for recycled battery material expands."
Electra is currently retrofitting its existing cobalt sulfate
refinery located in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario to accommodate its proprietary
hydrometallurgical process designed to treat black mass, a
byproduct generated from the recycling of end-of-life EV and other
lithium-ion batteries.
Under the parameters of the black mass demonstration, Electra
plans to process up to 75 tonnes of material in a batch mode. Using
its lab tested process, Electra anticipates the recovery of high
value elements found in lithium-ion batteries, including nickel,
cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, and graphite.
Electra also anticipates the full commissioning of all equipment
and circuits of the black mass recycling demonstration in the fall
of 2022 with the full commissioning of the cobalt sulfate refinery
expected in the spring of 2023. The Company will provide regular
updates on the status of its demonstration plant and commissioning
efforts.
In preparation for the black mass demonstration plant, Electra
completed process development and engineering on recycling black
mass material. Electra previously sourced black mass samples from
suppliers in North America,
Europe, and Asia, studied the feed characteristics, and
developed a hydrometallurgical process route to recover contained
lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and graphite. The test work was
conducted using the facilities of SGS Labs in Lakefield, Ontario and engineering was
completed using the combined resources of Electra technical
personnel, supported by process design engineers of Hatch
Associates and mechanical and electrical engineering support by
Bestech.
Electra's proprietary hydrometallurgical process has a low
carbon footprint and produces stable non-acid generating tailings,
thereby reducing environmental impacts while meeting or exceeding
water discharge effluent criteria as stipulated by both federal and
provincial regulations.
Electra completed a benchmarking study that indicates that the
carbon intensity of the cradle-to-gate battery grade nickel
sulfate produced from recycled black mass using its
hydrometallurgical process in a low-carbon electricity grid is
lower than other feed options, including Class 1 nickel metal,
nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate or ferronickel.
In addition, the carbon intensity of nickel sulfate produced
from recycled black mass at Electra's refinery, which uses
hydroelectricity as its primary energy source, is less than 50% of
the carbon intensity of nickel sulfate produced from mixed
hydroxide precipitate when the source of energy relies on
non-renewables such as coal-powered electricity. The refinery's
primary power source is hydroelectric from Ontario Power
Generation, resulting in a nearly zero greenhouse gas
emissions.
About Electra Battery
Materials
Electra is a processor of low-carbon, ethically-sourced battery
materials. Currently commissioning North
America's only cobalt sulfate refinery, Electra is executing
a multipronged strategy focused on onshoring the electric vehicle
supply chain. Keys to its strategy are integrating black mass
recycling and nickel sulfate production at Electra's refinery
located north of Toronto,
advancing Iron Creek, its cobalt-copper exploration-stage project
in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and expanding cobalt sulfate processing
into Bécancour, Quebec. For more
information visit www.ElectraBMC.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking
statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans",
"expects', "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or
variations of such words, or statements that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be
achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties
and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, and
opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set
forth in the management discussion and analysis and other
disclosures of risk factors for Electra Battery Materials
Corporation, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Electra
Battery Materials Corporation believes that the information and
assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these
statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release,
and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the
disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by
applicable law, Electra Battery Materials Corporation disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electra-starts-commissioning-of-battery-materials-recycling-demonstration-plant-at-its-ontario-refinery-complex-301648459.html
SOURCE Electra Battery Materials Corporation