February 23, 2023: Lead recycling group Ecobat announced plans on February 20 to build an EV lithium ion battery recycling plant in Arizona, with an initial estimated processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes annually.
The Casa Grande plant will be the firm’s third lithium ion recycling facility, its first such plant in North America and recycling capacity could be expanded further.
Ecobat said the plant, where start-up is expected in the third quarter of this year, will repurpose lithium ion batteries reaching end-of-life through diagnostics, sorting, shredding and material separation to produce a concentrated black mass.
Ecobat CEO Marcus Randolph said expanding its lithium ion battery recycling facilities in Germany and the UK and building on the firm’s lead battery experience, represented a milestone in Ecobat’s growth plans.
Batteries International reported on February 16 that Ecobat’s former Stolberg lead production plant in Germany, recently acquired by Trafigura, would be back in operation in the coming weeks.
Photo: Ecobat