Initial pilot sustainably recycles over 3,200
lbs of lithium-ion batteries; closing the loop and
recovering critical battery materials from electric bus
batteries
WINNIPEG, MB, Jan. 8, 2021 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer
Industries Canada ULC and New Flyer of America Inc. (together "New
Flyer"), subsidiaries of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), one of the world's
leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced the
successful completion of a battery recycling pilot with
North America's largest
lithium-ion battery recycler, Li-Cycle Corporation
("Li-Cycle").
Li-Cycle offers a proprietary, closed loop lithium-ion battery
resource recovery service producing minimal solid waste, and zero
liquid and air emissions that can sustainably produce battery grade
lithium, cobalt, and nickel products. The pilot is Li-Cycle's first
program in the heavy duty vehicle space.
New Flyer provided Li-Cycle with 45 end-of-life lithium-ion
battery modules (used for research and development) totaling 3,200
pounds to be processed at Li-Cycle's Spoke facility and turned into
black mass, which is then further refined to recover critical
materials such as nickel and cobalt.
"As our customers transition to zero-emission mobility, they do
so with a focus on cradle to grave sustainability. The demand for
battery recycling is growing, so too is the desire to lessen
environmental impact on our communities. Our pilot with Li-Cycle is
delivering just this and we are optimistic in offering battery
recycling in future," said Chris
Stoddart, President, New Flyer and MCI. "We're committed to
providing sustainable mobility solutions from procurement through
vehicle retirement. Working with Li-Cycle delivers a triple
sustainability benefit: we recover critical resources and divert
them from landfills, provide them for re-use in the battery supply
chain, and do so through Li-Cycle's proprietary clean recycling
process that minimizes impact to surrounding environments."
Li-Cycle's patented Spoke & Hub technologies recover an
impressive 95% of all lithium-ion battery materials – extracting
high-grade materials for battery reproduction, at a cost lower than
mined and refined material. Key differentiators of the Spoke &
Hub model include an automated process at Spoke facilities where
batteries are received in any state of charge and are mechanically
shredded with no sorting, dismantling, discharging, or thermal
processing needed. Patented Li-Cycle Hub technology then intakes
the black mass produced at Spoke plants, processes the materials
hydrometallurgically, and outputs high-purity battery chemicals to
be redirected to the lithium-ion battery supply chain and broader
economy.
Li-Cycle's technology sets it apart from most other recycling
facilities which use thermal processes to recover only a portion of
the materials present in spent batteries. This approach only
recaptures half the contents, as the lithium is lost, going up
smokestacks and leading to further emissions. Li-Cycle's
wet-chemistry process requires lower energy consumption than
traditional high temperature processes and is fully sustainable
with no solid or liquid waste and zero impact air emissions.
"We are thrilled to work with New Flyer in spearheading
closed-loop resource recovery of electric bus batteries. As of
2019, approximately 425,000 of the world's buses are electric, and
our goal is to support the growth of electrification with solutions
to end-of-life challenges associated with lithium-ion batteries,"
said Kunal Phalpher, Chief
Commercial Officer, Li-Cycle. "This pilot program demonstrates how
Li-Cycle is supporting the transition to sustainable transport,
serving the dual purpose of reducing hazardous waste while
recovering critical materials so they can be reintroduced into the
supply chain. We are excited to work with New Flyer in closing the
loop for electric bus products."
New Flyer and Li-Cycle are both members of CALSTART, an
international nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the pace of clean
technology and the adoption of clean transportation.
Li-Cycle provides sustainable and safe customer centric
solutions and technology to solve the global end of lifecycle
lithium-ion battery opportunities, while meeting the rapidly
growing demand for critical battery materials. Li-Cycle has won
multiple industry awards for their innovative technology including
the 2020 and 2021 Global Cleantech 100, the 2019 CV Energy
Innovation Awards, and Li-Cycle's Ajay
Kochhar was named an Honouree of Canada's prestigious Clean16 sustainable
leaders list for 2020 alongside New Flyer's own Jennifer McNeill. Li-Cycle currently operates
two Spoke facilities across North
America located in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada and Rochester,
NY, USA. For more information visit li-cycle.com.
New Flyer has been leading innovation in mobility for 90 years,
and today supports growing North American cities with sustainable
buses, technology, and infrastructure. It also operates the Vehicle
Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind
dedicated to advancing bus and motor coach technology and providing
essential workforce development through electric bus training, now
available online. New Flyer is testing automated vehicle technology
and remains committed to the development of technology standards
that deliver safe, clean, sustainable, connected mobility options
to communities.
About NFI
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the
electrification of mass mobility around the world. With
zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology,
NFI meets today's urban demands for scalable smart mobility
solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through
connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.
With 8,000 team members in ten countries, NFI is a leading
global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands
New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI®
(motor coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck
buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC® (low-floor
cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently
offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available,
including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell),
natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI
supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and coaches
around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information is available at
www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com,
www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.
About New Flyer
New Flyer is North America's
heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product
line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. It
also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer
Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe,
sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New
Flyer actively supports over 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New
Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 8,600 are
powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are
zero-emission. Further information is available at
www.newflyer.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements
relating to expected future events and financial and operating
results of NFI Group that involve risks and uncertainties. Although
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions,
investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be
material. Actual results may differ materially from management
expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a
variety of reasons, including market and general economic
conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for
customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services,
customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses,
the ability of customers to suspend or terminate contracts for
convenience and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the
materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities
and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential
impact of these factors, the NFI Group disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
unless required by applicable law.
SOURCE New Flyer Industries Inc.