Electra Battery Materials, Three Fires Group announce joint venture

Electra Battery Materials announces a joint venture, named Aki Battery Recycling, with Indigenous-owned Three Fires Group to produce battery black mass through responsible recycling of lithium-ion battery scrap and waste material. The black mass would then be sold to Electra’s refinery to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals to produce new lithium-ion batteries. Electra CEO, Trent Mell said, “I am grateful for the relationship we have built with Three Fires over the past year and honoured to be advancing a shared vision of a greener future. Aki Battery Recycling aims to address the environmental impact of future battery waste in Ontario and beyond, by returning battery scrap back into the supply chain. This venture not only aligns with our mission to onshore North America’s EV battery supply chain, but to do so sustainably and through a scalable solution to meet the growing needs of the North American electric vehicle industry.”