Dive Brief:
- Battery recycler Cirba Solutions will spend more than $300 million to build a recycling and processing facility for hybrid and EV batteries in Richland County, South Carolina.
- The facility is estimated to recover enough critical battery materials, including nickel, cobalt and lithium, to power over 500,000 EV batteries per year, according to the governor’s office.
- The state’s economic development council approved job development credits for the project, as well as awarded the county $3 million to assist with site preparation and construction, per the release. Operations are expected to start in late 2024.
Dive Insight:
Battery recyclers are upping their processing capacity as major automakers strike deals to recycle batteries and scrap as well as procure recovered critical materials.
Cirba Solutions hit the ground running with six processing facilities last summer. Now, it is working to grow its footprint and recently appointed a former Redwood Materials executive to head up its expansion efforts.
Along with multiple grants the company received under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support work on its Ohio facility, Cirba Solutions said it will pour more than $1 billion into a sustainable, closed-loop battery supply chain over the next five years to meet growing demand for EV battery materials.
The Richland County facility will be nestled into the country’s emerging “Battery Belt” in the Southeast U.S., where automakers’ EV plans have prompted local investment from battery suppliers in the region.
Now, battery recyclers are positioning themselves to supply the growing number of battery plants popping up in the region. In December, Redwood Materials announced plans for a $3.5 billion EV battery plant in South Carolina.
“Today’s announcement reinforces what we have all been watching locally and statewide — the electric vehicle industry is poised to succeed here,” said Central South Carolina Alliance Chairman Matthew Shaffer in a statement. “As the industry’s presence grows, so does the need for companies like Cirba Solutions.”
