American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) has received a significant accolade from the Joe Biden Administration. The company’s lithium-ion battery recycling facility located in Nevada has been designated as a regional innovation and technology hub.
This recognition underscores ABTC’s crucial role in advancing sustainable battery technologies and marks a pivotal moment in the United States’ quest for cutting-edge innovations in the energy sector.
The ABTC commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility stands as a beacon of sustainable innovation, boasting an impressive capacity to process over 20,000 metric tonnes per year of battery feedstock materials when operating at full capacity. In recent times, ABTC has solidified its position as a pioneer in the field of battery recycling by forging strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as BASF, Nanotech, and FedEx. These partnerships ensure a stable source of feed materials and secure the distribution of recycled products.
The facility is already in the initial operational phase, efficiently transforming battery feedstock materials into recycled products. These include copper, aluminum, steel, a lithium intermediate, and a black mass intermediate material. These recycled materials are made available through a well-executed marketing agreement with the global metals trader, TechMet-Mercuria.
ABTC’s ambitious plans don’t stop here. The second phase of the integrated recycling facility will witness further refinements, with the lithium intermediate being transformed into a battery-grade lithium hydroxide product. Additionally, the black mass intermediate material will undergo further processing to yield battery-grade nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium hydroxide products. These innovations promise to reshape the battery industry, providing sustainable solutions for the future.
What makes ABTC’s achievements even more remarkable is the fact that these recycling technologies were developed in-house by the company’s R&D, engineering, and technical projects team. Many of these team members were previously instrumental in the design and engineering of the founding Tesla Gigafactory. Their expertise in scaling processes and launching commercial-scale facilities has been invaluable in de-risking ABTC’s commercialization of the recycling facility.
To further enhance the company’s operations and scale-up efforts, ABTC has been the recipient of several competitive grants from the U.S Department of Energy (DOE). These grants have already undergone rigorous due diligence, with ABTC successfully securing the final contracts and currently receiving the awarded funds. This financial support from the DOE serves as a testament to the importance of ABTC’s work in advancing sustainable battery technologies.
ABTC’s commitment to research and development is evident in its dedicated in-house team of scientists, located at the Nevada Center for Applied Research at the University of Nevada, Reno. This team tirelessly works on developing, optimizing, and evolving ABTC’s pioneering battery metals extraction technologies.
In a time when sustainable energy solutions are of paramount importance, ABTC’s achievements and recognition as an innovation and technology hub serve as a shining example of the strides being made in the pursuit of a cleaner, more sustainable future. Their contributions to the field of battery recycling and the development of environmentally responsible energy solutions mark a crucial step toward a more sustainable tomorrow.