Li-Cycle next recycling facility in France

Following a commitment for a US$375 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy and a visit from world leaders to its recycling facilities in Canada, the momentum keeps up for Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. with a newly signed definitive agreement with KION Group for the development of a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in France.

As the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, Li-Cycle has been advancing its spoke-and-hub system to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper, and aluminum from end-of-life batteries to help offset the rocketing demand for these materials required for electric vehicles.

Already, the company has constructed four out of a reported 12 spokes capable of recycling more than 50,000 metric tons of lithium-ion battery material per year. Found in Ontario, New York, Arizona, and Alabama, these facilities establish a growing footprint in key strategic regions to support the recycling needs of its growing battery supply customer base – and Europe wants in on the action.

KION Group AG, a multinational manufacturer of materials handling equipment headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, is partnering with Li-Cycle to help make that happen.

This German manufacturer currently has a fleet of more than 1.7 million industrial trucks, which includes forklift and warehouse trucks and is the largest industrial truck manufacturer in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

Under the partnership with Li-Cycle, batteries from KION's electric trucks will be recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner to support the development of a sustainable, practical, and localized battery supply chain in Europe.

"Li-Cycle's sustainable Spoke and Hub process enables up to 95% of the mass of a lithium-ion battery to be recovered and the critical minerals contained in those batteries to be used to manufacture new batteries," said KION Andreas Krinninger, president of Kion Industrial Trucks and Services EMEA. "This makes us one of the pioneers in the material handling industry in the field of recovery and recycling of lithium-ion batteries."

Under the agreement, Li-Cycle will recycle KION's batteries from its global brands using its proprietary recycling technology, which is for an initial period until 2030. Furthermore, through this deal, KION has designated Li-Cycle as the company's preferred global recycling partner in hopes that its batteries will be recycled sustainably.

"Li-Cycle is excited to be designated as KION's preferred global recycling partner, as we continue to grow and diversify our customer portfolio to advance our expansion plans in Europe and help drive a sustainable and localized battery ecosystem," said Li-Cycle Executive Chair Tim Johnston. "Through our partnership, Li-Cycle expects to support both KION's recycling needs and KION's ability to align with the EU's battery regulations. Together, we will build a circular battery supply chain and further support the clean energy transition."