Glencore, a metal and fossil fuel giant, is injecting $200m into Li cycle, a battery recycler, as part of a larger symbiotic supply agreement signed by the two companies Under the new agreement, the Swiss materials giant will transport burned batteries and waste to Li cycle, which will be responsible for recycling high demand metals so that they can be reused for electric vehicle batteries and other applications.
It is understood that Li cycle uses spokes and hubs to recycle materials. At their spoke facility, they smashed used batteries and began to decompose them using a water-based system. This technology is called hydrometallurgical processing, which uses less energy than pyrometallurgical processing. Although hydrometallurgy can also recover more minerals, it has a disadvantage that it will produce more wastewater that must be treated.
Li cycle transports a substance called substantia nigra from its spoke facility to its central facility for further processing. There, it separates the black blocks into various materials, including those that can be used to make new lithium-ion batteries.
Glencore will provide Li cycle with black blocks and manufacturing wastes for processing. Getting a supply of waste is good for the start-up because it is easier to recycle than the whole battery.
After the news of the convertible financing transaction, Li cycle's shares soared nearly 9% during normal trading hours to a high of $7.89 per share. The six-year-old recycling company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange through a $1.55 billion spac merger last August. In addition to the $200 million from Glencore, the battery recycler recently received an additional $50 million from LG and $100 million from Koc industries, a fossil fuel booster.
Glencore said in an investor update at the end of last year that it intends to strengthen its recycling business worldwide, which is a shift for a company known for mining more primary ore than transferring waste from landfills. The mining giant said the move should help reduce the carbon strength of its materials. Glencore has previously stated that its goal is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.