Daimler Truck North America pairs up with Li-Cycle to recycle its EV batteries

Daimler Truck North America has partnered with Li-Cycle to recycle its end-of-life lithium-ion EV batteries.

Daimler Truck North America says recycling lithium-ion batteries is part of its plans to maximize battery lifespans and reduce material waste, but details of the arrangement between it and Li-Cycle, such as scope and timescale, are thin on the ground.

Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) has four pre-processing facilities – what it calls Spokes – that are online in North America: Kingston, Ontario; Rochester, New York; Gilbert, Arizona; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (It also has a Spoke in Germany.)

The Spokes produce an intermediate product called “black mass,” which includes such battery materials as lithium, nickel, and cobalt. It plans to process the black mass the Spokes produce at its future “Hub” facilities into battery-grade end products for reuse.

However, the Canadian company announced in October 2023 that construction of its flagship Hub battery recycling facility in Rochester would pause for review due to liquidity issues. The Rochester Hub was awarded a $375 million loan from the US Department of Energy in February 2023.

I’ve asked the company what it’s currently doing with the processed black mass and other metals and will update if I hear back.

The company posted a $138 million net loss for 2023, but in March 2024, Li-Cycle secured a $75 million investment from Swiss mining company Glencore.

Ajay Kochhar, CEO of Li-Cycle Holdings, said at the time, “We are pleased to secure an additional $75 million investment from Glencore, following Glencore’s June 2022 investment, to improve our liquidity position while we continue our ongoing comprehensive review process.”

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