For Lithion Technologies, 2024 marked a historic milestone in battery recycling

For Yves Noël, Chief Business Development Officer and Vice President at Lithion Technologies, “from day one, the company’s vision has been to create full circularity for strategic battery materials. Today, we have developed unique expertise in collecting, extracting, and recycling critical battery minerals in the safest and most efficient way, ultimately returning these materials to the hands of those who are making the battery cells.”

Founded in 2018, Lithion Technologies has since seen a substantial acceleration in its initial vision, with 2024 marking a historic milestone in the completion of construction and the start of commissioning for its first shredding plant in Saint-Bruno, Quebec.

The battery recycling company also secured multi-year supply agreements with over ten OEMs across Canada as well as a strategic partnership with Hyundai Canada that currently aims to provide services to more than 250 of the automaker’s dealerships across the country.

And, to round out the year, in December, the company announced a partnership with Nova Bus—a member of the Volvo Group—to recycle its electric bus batteries, marking Lithion Technologies’ entry into the urban transit industry.

Another notable accomplishment for the company is a partnership with General Motors. Since 2022, Lithion and GM established a partnership to help secure the circularity of the automaker’s battery materials, both for non-compliant products from its battery production facilities and for end-of-life GM vehicle batteries.

Through a patented two-step recycling system that begins with mechanical shredding of critical mineral concentrate—or black mass—at the Lithion Saint-Bruno plant, and ends with a hydrometallurgical process that separates and purifies the concentrate, Lithion Technologies is able to recover 95 percent of lithium-ion battery components.

Additionally, the recycling process produces 72 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than mining extraction and uses up to 96 percent less water than traditional methods.

With nearly 80 employees, including the newly developed Saint-Bruno facility, Lithion Saint-Bruno will be able to process nearly 20,000 tonnes of batteries per year at full capacity—equivalent to 45,000 electric vehicle batteries.

“This is an industry that, up to a few years back, did not exist,” highlights Noël. “While the industry is still in its infancy stages, we are proud at Lithion to continue to be at the forefront of establishing connections with key industry players and developing the necessary knowledge to recycle the products from the automotive industry wisely and safely. Our biggest achievement in 2024 was continuing to work with the industry to develop knowledge of the market for future innovations.”

In order to connect with Lithion Technologies to see the services that over 500 dealerships are currently benefiting from, simply submit a request through the company’s dedicated battery collection and recycling portal.

From here, a member of the company’s customer service team will send an offer within 48 hours of receiving the request. Lithion Technologies guarantees battery collection within five business days anywhere in Canada, in order to provide clients with peace of mind while enabling them to actively contribute to the energy transition.