What’s Happening: Cirba Solutions, a leading battery materials and management company, has unveiled plans for a phase I investment of over $300 million in a lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling facility in South Carolina. The company aims to invest over $1 billion in the next five years to expand the infrastructure necessary to meet the growing demand for critical materials in EV batteries.
Why It Matters: This move by Cirba Solutions contributes to the development of a sustainable closed-loop battery supply chain. The facility will process end-of-life batteries, gigafactory scrap, and consumer batteries to extract essential materials, such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, supporting the domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain. The facility’s output will be enough to power over 500,000 EV batteries annually.
Key Points:
- The facility will be Cirba Solutions’ eighth operational site in North America and the fourth within the U.S. ‘Battery Belt,’ an area with over 15 new lithium-ion battery gigafactories or expansions announced since 2021.
- Located near Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County, the over 200-acre battery materials campus will create more than 300 jobs. Groundbreaking is set for this year, with operations slated to begin in late 2024.
- Cirba Solutions plans to use the facility as an educational and professional training center, focusing on processing technology for end-of-life batteries and promoting clean energy practices.
- The South Carolina campus adds to Cirba Solutions’ existing facilities in Lancaster, Ohio, and Trail, British Columbia, which have been processing batteries for decades.
Bottom Line: Cirba Solutions’ investment in a South Carolina-based EV battery recycling facility demonstrates the company’s commitment to a sustainable battery materials supply chain. The facility’s location in the U.S. ‘Battery Belt’ will support the domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain and provide critical materials for EV manufacturing. This investment will create jobs, promote clean energy practices, and contribute to the growth of the electric vehicle industry.
