Canada: Critical Mineral Extraction Plant Under Construction
Canadian company Lithion Recycling which now operates under the name Lithion Technologies has announced the construction of its first commercial critical mineral extraction plant in Canada. The commission of the facility is set for fall 2023.
According to Lithion, the plant will process over 15,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries annually, sourced from electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid vehicles and non-conforming materials from cells and battery manufacturing to produce the company’s critical minerals concentrate. “The plant is strategically located just outside Montreal to enable easy procurement of batteries and non-conforming materials from Canada and the United States while benefiting from its proximity to Quebec’s growing battery industry,” Lithion gave account. “The construction was made possible by the financial support of the Quebec Government, via Investissement Québec and the Fonds d’électrification et de changements climatiques, IMM Investment Global, Fondaction, and General Motors.”
As underlined, the new plant in St-Bruno-de-Montarville will be followed by the construction of a hydrometallurgy facility, which will separate the concentrate into its components to produce battery-grade lithium, cobalt, and nickel. “This second facility’s commissioning is scheduled for 2026, following an upcoming financing round and site selection.” Lithion has developed a process to recover strategic materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and non-conforming materials from battery production. The applied technologies would allow for recovering up to 95 percent of battery components so that they could be reused by battery manufacturers to ensure circularity, the information said. “This innovation enables a sustainable energy transition and the achievement of society’s decarbonization objectives by reducing the demand for natural resource extraction through the use of sustainable technologies and processes.” Lithion’s goal is the global deployment, through strategic partnerships and licensing, of 25 plants by 2035.
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 2/2023, Page 21)
