Electra Battery Materials Corporation (Electra), a listed Canadian battery material recycler, and a First Nations-owned investment group, Three Fires Group, have signed an MOU to form a joint venture (JV) that focuses on the recycling of lithium-ion battery waste in Ontario. The JV will use Electra’s proprietary black mass processing capabilities to recover high-value elements, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite.

The JV will source and process battery waste generated by manufacturers of EVs, energy storage systems, and battery cells, which will then be processed at a facility in southern Ontario to produce black mass material. The material will be refined further using Electra's proprietary hydrometallurgical process to recover the high-value elements.

As part of the MOU, the two companies would also work together to secure a net-zero industrial facility to shred and separate lithium-ion batteries, produce black mass material, and develop economic studies and management requirements necessary to launch the battery waste recycling facility.

Analyst QuickTake: This partnership highlights Electra’s efforts to expand the market reach for its high-value elements. Electra has taken this step following the successful recovery of lithium in its black-mass recycling trial, which was conducted at its refinery in the north of Toronto in March 2023. The company also completed its first plant-scale recycling of black mass and recovered critical metals using its proprietary hydrometallurgical process in February of this year. Electra also plans to build an integrated battery materials park in Canada and aims to commission a commercial-scale plant in 2023.