Dive Brief:
-
American Battery Technology Company signed agreements to expand its production footprint as it secures customers.
-
Under the agreements, the battery recycler secured a facility in McCarran, Nevada, and also inked $20 million pre-payment deal with supply chain platform TechMet-Mercuria for its recycled battery materials.
- The news comes as the company nears completion of its first integrated recycling facility in Fernley, Nevada, which is equipped to process over 20,000 metric tons of battery feedstock material annually.
Dive Insight:
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, a law incentivizing EV makers to expand production and sourcing in North America, the demand for battery materials has increased.
Since the Fernley plant is still under construction, the TechMet-Mercuria agreement will allow ABTC to accelerate its operations and meet the demand for its materials. Meanwhile, the ready-to-move-in McCarran facility will help its lithium-ion battery recycling technologies operate at a higher capacity.
The lithium-ion battery recycling pilot plant in Fernley, which is still under construction, will process up to 20,000 metric tons annually, according to its website.
“As we ramp operations at our first integrated lithium-ion battery recycling facility, the short-term sale of these intermediate products will be a key enabler to accelerating the implementation of the additional phases of our operations to manufacture commercial quantities of cathode grade battery metal products for domestic markets,” ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert said in a statement.
The McCarran facility spans nearly 137,000 square feet and is equipped with water treatment and material handling capabilities needed to develop its battery technology.
“The purchase of this existing facility was significantly lower [in] cost than constructing a new facility of similar design, and the fact that it is move-in ready with the necessary infrastructure equipment already installed will allow us to accelerate our start of commercial-scale operations,” Mesert said in a statement.
In October, ABTC was one of 20 companies to receive the first round of funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. ABTC received nearly $58 million that went toward the construction of a facility for manufacturing cathode-grade lithium hydroxide.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misstated the annual metric tons to be produced at the Fernley facility. It has been updated with new information from the ABTC website.
