A new lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Eloy is expected to employ 110 production workers when it opens next year.
The Eloy facility will process lithium-ion batteries that have reached the end of their service life, as well as battery manufacturing scrap, with additional services including disassembly, sorting, warehousing and diagnostic testing, says Indianapolis-based Heritage Battery Recycling, part of Cirba Solutions.
This facility is expected to launch operations by mid-2023 and process enough battery material to support 50,000 EVs annually. Eloy is in Pinal County and straddles Interstate 10 about 40 miles north of Tucson.
The plant will extract nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium that will serve as a raw material feedstock to provide battery-grade salts for new cathode and battery manufacturing, the company said.
Cirba Solutions already has a battery recycling facility in Mesa, one of six in North America, including two lithium-ion battery recycling plants.
βThis new site expands our footprint and offerings in Arizona, while complimenting the phenomenal services we already provide through our Mesa location,β said David Klanecky, the company's president and CEO.
The pressure on global and domestic lithium mining capacity will continue to grow with EV and other electronics demand, making EV battery recycling increasingly important, the companyΒ says.
By 2050, recycled minerals will account for nearly 50% of cobalt, 25% of lithium, and 40% of nickel produced in U.S. EV batteries, according to data from the trade journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling cited by the company.
State and local officials welcomed the new recycling plant.
βThis new EV battery recycling facility bolsters Arizonaβs vibrant battery and electric vehicle supply chain and furthers Arizonaβs reputation as an epicenter for lithium batteries,β said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Just up the road from Eloy, startup Lucid Motors launched production of its luxury EVs in Casa Grande last fall.
And Toronto-based Li-Cycle opened a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Gilbert in May.
Eloy Mayor Micah Powell said Cirba Solutions'Β investment and new jobs βfit nicely into Eloyβs ongoing plan to attract quality employers to our community.β
βAs has been said, a rising tide raises all boats and in economic development that means supplier and support industries such as Cirba Solutions,β Powell said.
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