American Battery Technology Company, an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, has been selected for a highly competitive grant for $150 million dollars of federal investment by the U.S. Department of Energy to be applied towards the construction of a new lithium-ion battery recycling facility.
This facility will be the company’s second commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility and is designed to process approximately 100,000 tonnes of battery materials per year from its battery manufacturer, automotive OEM, and community partners.
“We are extremely honored to be selected for this government investment to further expand our domestic battery recycling operations, and after having gone through nearly one-year of technical and economic evaluation, we appreciate the level of diligence that the government employed in making this decision,” stated ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert. “We are greatly appreciative of the confidence and support we have received from our partners throughout this process and are energized to move forward with our feedstock supply, product offtake, and strategic stakeholders in this critical expansion of our domestic capabilities.”
True to the company’s strategic model to engage a diverse portfolio of partners and stakeholders to bring advanced battery technologies online and establish a commercial battery metals supply chain for North America, this project will leverage multiple partners including feedstock supplier and critical mineral product offtaker BASF, global engineering firm Siemens, the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) ReCell Center, the Argonne National Laboratory Sustainable Transportation Education & Partnerships (STEP) department, and the South Carolina Electric Transportation Network (SCETNetwork).
ABTC constructed and commissioned its first lithium-ion battery recycling facility near Reno, Nevada in Fall 2023, which implements its internally-developed processes for the strategic de-manufacturing and targeted chemical extraction of battery materials in order to manufacture battery grade products at competitive costs and with low environmental footprint. These processes are fundamentally different than conventional methods of battery recycling, which generally utilize either high temperature smelting or non-strategic shredding systems.
Through this new facility construction project, ABTC will employ a proactive, community-driven engagement model to build an energy equity, sustainable circular manufacturing ecosystem that aims to create 1,200 construction jobs and 300 operations jobs. The company will work in direct partnership between communities, educational institutions, industry, government, the National Laboratory system, and the next generation workforce to support equitable and sustainable initiatives that benefit and strengthen in local communities, including in underserved communities that have historically been left behind.
ABTC is partnering with government entities and local educational institutions, such as ANL’s STEP department and Clemson University, to create career pathways in battery recycling and establish a talent pipeline for the domestic battery recycling industry.
Bringing first-of-kind technologies to market, ABTC’s battery recycling and primary battery metals commercialization efforts support the buildout of a domestically-sourced battery metals circular supply chain. ABTC has been selected for several competitive awards supporting the advancement and commercialization of its first-of-kind technologies for both battery recycling and primary claystone-to-lithium hydroxide manufacturing.