Battery Resourcers, a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company based in Worcester, Mass., announced it is opening two new pilot plants, one of which will be in Novi.
The Novi facility will support the company’s commitment to developing and commercializing battery materials, including the sintering and finishing of high-energy density nickel manganese cobalt cathodes.
The site will also contain a state-of-the-art material analytical lab, and lab scale battery production and test capabilities to fully evaluate the performance of Battery Resourcers’ battery materials.
“The completion of this comprehensive expansion project is a critical milestone for Battery Resourcers,” says Michael O’Kronley, CEO and director of Battery Resourcers. “With this strategic facility conversion, paired with multiple expansions, Battery Resourcers has the increased capability and capacity for processing end-of-life, warranty return and production scrap batteries into cathode active material for new battery production.”
Another new facility in Westborough, Mass. will process black mass — the result of disassembling a used battery pack and shredding its components and processing it into a material high in lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel metals — into cathode precursor material.
It will also purify the recovered graphite to battery grade at a purity level higher than 99.9 percent. The battery material research and development team will also be relocated to Westborough to closely integrate lab development and increased manufacturing scaling efforts.
According to Battery Resourcers, its process produces no toxic waste, recovers 97 percent of metals, and reduces emissions by 35 percent. The material recovery and cathode manufacturing also result in 35 percent reduced costs and 13 percent reduced energy consumption compared to the production of new materials.
Founded in 2015 with a mission of returning 100 percent of battery active materials back into new batteries. The company today makes EV-grade, finished cathode active materials that meet or exceed the performance requirements set by other industry-leading brands.
