Electra Achieves 99% Purity Lithium Carbonate from Black Mass Recycling Project
Electra Battery Materials announced the successful production of technical-grade lithium carbonate with over 99% purity from its black mass recycling project, a significant step in the company’s efforts to produce high-quality battery materials. This achievement further demonstrates Electra’s capability to process black mass into valuable products such as nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and graphite.
Electra’s CEO, Trent Mell, highlighted the importance of this milestone: “Our proprietary hydrometallurgical process has proven that we can generate high-quality, saleable products, now including lithium carbonate, which may be the first such achievement in North America at this scale. This underscores the importance of developing a domestic supply chain and a closed-loop solution for battery recycling as electric vehicle (EV) adoption grows.”
The company’s black mass recycling efforts, launched at its Ontario refinery, involve processing shredded, end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The material, known as black mass, contains critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite that can be recovered and reintroduced into the battery supply chain. Electra began processing 40 tonnes of black mass in 2023, marking North America’s first plant-scale hydrometallurgical recycling of this material.
Electra is also advancing its recycling program through a new joint venture with the Three Fires Group, Aki Battery Recycling. The venture will focus on sourcing and processing off-spec and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to produce black mass, which will then be refined using Electra’s proprietary methods.
As demand for critical minerals surges, Electra aims to expand its Ontario cobalt refinery and eventually broaden its operations to include battery recycling and nickel production, securing North America’s battery material supply chain.
