Washington Approves $475 Million Loan for Li-Cycle’s NY Battery Plant

Li-Cycle’s new battery recycling plant gets big financial boost from the US government and jobs

The US Department of Energy has approved a 475 million-dollar loan to Li-Cycle, one of the largest recyclers of batteries across the world. The financing will act as a precursor to establishing an enormous battery processing complex in New York and will be pivotal in helping increase lithium production in the United States while strengthening America's EV supply chain.

The loan will be part of the Biden administration's efforts to get domestic production of the necessary materials needed for electric vehicles. Lithium will be sourced from this New York facility, which happens to be among the largest in the US, churning out thousands of metric tons every year. The company plans to process material critical to EV battery production.

It has almost three years since Li-Cycle was seeking this kind of funding. Delay and increment had sent it back a few times. But with this loan, the company can now push through as the loan is composed of $445 million in principal and $30 million in capitalized interest.

The new Li-Cycle facility will support the US in better locking down a much stronger home supply of critical materials. At the same time, the plant is in line with climate goals because it reduces dependence on foreign sources, mainly lithium and nickel.

This facility is expected to take between 12 and 15 months to construct. Upon operation, it will generate lithium carbonate and mixed hydroxide precipitate, which is crucial in EV batteries. This could then reduce the need to mine raw materials.

Li-Cycle's new New York facility will create around 825 direct and indirect jobs associated with construction and 200 permanent positions once the facility starts operations.

Loans such as the one Li-Cycle will benefit from would help to bridge the demand gap in the recycling of used batteries. In fact, a Biden administration would align with the ultimate clean energy future as well as a self-sustaining electric vehicle ecosystem in the United States.