The Canadian battery recycling company Li-Cycle has announced a partnership with an unnamed automotive OEM to recycle battery materials in Germany. Li-Cycle’s facility in Magdeburg will play a central role for the venture.
Li-Cycle initially opened the recycling plant in September 2023. You can read our interview with company founder Tim Johnston about the opening and Li-Cycle’s plans for Europe here. The plant in Magdeburg is a so-called ‘spoke factory,’ which maps the first steps of battery recycling through to the black mass with the valuable active materials in close proximity to the customer. The actual processing into raw materials will then take place in the hub plants – with several spokes supplying a hub plant with black mass.
In addition to the Kion Group, which has been a partner for the Magdeburg from the outset, Li-Cycle has now entered into another partnership with “an additional premium automotive original equipment manufacturer.”
“We are delighted to recycle lithium-ion batteries and manufacturing scrap sourced from across the EU as we work to expand our commercial reach and enhance value for our global EV OEM partners,” said Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle President and CEO. “This partnership with a leading, premium EV manufacturer will serve as a vital source of recycling feedstock for our Germany Spoke, aiding our objective of offering a local and sustainable secondary supply of critical battery materials.”
Beyond Europe, Li-Cycle also has an ongoing partnership with the Vietnamese VinGroup, which was launched in late 2022, and operates battery recycling centres in the USA, as well as Sardinia, which operate in a wheel & spoke system, in order to maximize efficiency between locations. At the end of last year, Li-Cycle also received a $475 million loan from the US government to build a recycling facility in New York, however, things may be up for negotiation under the new US presidential administration.
