A $375 million loan to a local battery recycling company for electric vehicle batteries

Rochester, New York If you have a smartphone, chances are it’s powered by a lithium battery.

A local company recycles it to help build the batteries that power electric cars. Ajay Kochhar runs Li-Cycle. On Monday, News10NBC learned that his company is getting a $375 million loan from the federal government.

The money comes from last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. Li-Cycle started seven years ago. It takes old lithium batteries, recycles lithium, cobalt, and nickel, and sells those materials to make new electric batteries. Without those chemicals, you can’t make batteries.

Ajay Kochar, CEO, Li-Cycle: We are used to working in the lithium space. We saw all this lithium go to waste and we thought, well, this is crazy. How is this better than hydrocarbons? This is why we are called the Li cycle.

Senator Chuck Schumer is quoted by the Federal Department of Energy.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) New York: With this investment, Li-Cycle, listen to this, Li-Cycle will become the largest supplier of lithium carbonate in all of America.

The batteries are small, but Li-Cycle is building a factory in Eastman Business Park that can fit 50 football fields.

Brain: When the battery goes into my phone or the toy goes into my son’s electric dinosaur, that battery will end with you and you’ll recycle it?
Ajay Kochar, CEO, Li-Cycle: Yes, this is correct. So you have to find local collection centers. They are often in retail stores. These groups take it, disconnect the batteries, and give it to us.

Only 10 percent of lithium batteries are recycled. Industry needs to be 90 percent. You can recycle yours County ecological park Behind the airport or at stores like Best Buy, Lowes, Target, Sprint, and Verizon.

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