Green Li-ion, the Singapore-based lithium-ion battery recycling technology provider, has opened its first US facility in Atoka, Oklahoma.
It claimed it is the only US company producing precursor cathode active materials (pCAM) and battery ready materials at a commercial scale, though other North American facilities may produce some battery materials from expired batteries on a test or demonstration scale.
The plant has been undergoing calibration and testing during April, but initial results point to the plant producing pCAM at full capacity within its given time frame, it said. It plans to quadruple production capacity of pCAM at battery grade within the coming year. Green Li-ion is processing battery chemicals and black mass from battery scrap.
The target is to generate battery grade graphite and lithium to be delivered to off-takers for their existing battery manufacturing. The additional processing is currently done outside of the Atoka installation, mainly in China and South Korea.
The company said its process will not use single-use chemicals. Sodium sulphate is produced in some of the processes, but this can be sold and used in other industries for production of pharmaceuticals or soap. The solution chemicals for Green Li-ion’s process are reusable for thousands of batches.
It claims to be the only capex-lean modular solution to do this on a global basis. Once installed, an individual Green Li-ion unit can process 4–6 tonnes of end-of-life batteries per day.
Green Li-ion’s choice to open its first plant in Atoka reflects the incentives in the US, including the Inflation Reduction Act, it said.
