Electra Battery Materials Corporation (Electra), a listed Canadian battery material recycler, completed its first plant-scale recycling of black mass (the material that remains once expired lithium-ion batteries are shredded and all casings are removed) in the US. The company also recovered critical metals, including nickel, cobalt, and manganese, needed for the EV battery supply chain using its proprietary hydrometallurgical process at its refinery north of Toronto.

The company claims this is the first hydrometallurgical plant-scale recycling of black mass in the US and the first recovery of a mixed hydroxide nickel and cobalt product. Further, the company has established relations with black mass producers in the US and abroad to support its ongoing efforts. 

In December 2022, Electra launched its black mass demonstration plant, processed material in a batch mode, and extracted nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, lithium, and graphite. Given the promising early findings, Electra has chosen to go above its target of 75 tonnes and continue its black mass processing to recover operations through June 2023. The company plans to sell all its recovered material to third-party companies for further processing and reuse in various applications.

Analyst QuickTake: In April 2022 , Electra signed an offtake agreement with Glencore AG to supply the latter with nickel and cobalt products from Electra's black mass recycling facility during 2023–24 on market-based terms.