Lithion Technologies, a company that develops, deploys, and operates sustainable and innovative patented technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries, has completed the construction of its first commercial critical mineral extraction plant. The new plant, Lithion Saint-Bruno, is located in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, near Montreal, Canada.

Lithion Saint-Bruno is the first lithium-ion battery critical mineral extraction plant in North America’s northeast. Lithion is now in the commissioning phase to ensure its innovative and patented processes operate safely and effectively.

Lithion Saint-Bruno has a team of 20 Lithioneersn to complete this important step. At full capacity, the plant will employ 60 people.

During the plant construction, Lithion’s commercial activities progressed significantly with the signing of multi-year battery feedstock agreements and the receipt of several batteries. The first battery treatment steps, such as dismantling, have also started. These agreements involve local partners, as well as large Canadian, American, and international corporations, all part of the electric vehicle ecosystem.

The opening of a storage facility based in the USA is anticipated to follow and discussions are underway between Lithion and business partners to deploy plants like Lithion Saint-Bruno in that country. Lithion will supply its plants from that storage location while providing its partners a service, solving a complex and costly facet of lithium-ion battery recycling. A similar strategy is already in action in Europe.

To create the circularity of battery materials, Lithion has developed a two-step recycling process with an environmental impact significantly smaller than mining. The first step, performed at Lithion Saint-Bruno, is the extraction of the critical minerals concentrate, or black mass, from batteries and non-conforming products from their production. Black mass is made of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite.

The second step is a hydrometallurgy process to separate and purify the black mass, producing materials of the highest purity, to be looped back into the production of new batteries. Lithion is currently in the process of selecting the site for this plant.

“What an exciting achievement to have completed the construction of our first commercial plant,” expressed Benoit Couture, president and CEO of Lithion. “It’s a major milestone towards the realization of our dream of sustainably closing the loop of battery materials and this is just the beginning. We will build more recycling plants, supplied by a network of battery collection and storage facilities across Canada, the United States, and Europe to ensure the energy transition is a sustainable solution for the generations to come.”