About

Li-Cycle is a leading global lithium-ion battery resource recovery company.

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About Us

Sustainably recycling lithium-ion batteries for a clean energy future.

Li-Cycle is a leading global lithium-ion battery resource recovery company and North America’s largest pure-play lithium-ion battery recycler, with a rapidly growing presence across Europe.

Established in 2016, and with major customers and partners around the world, Li-Cycle is on a mission to recover critical battery-grade materials to create a domestic closed-loop battery supply chain for a clean energy future.

The Company leverages its innovative, sustainable, and patent-protected Spoke & Hub Technologies™ to provide a safe, scalable, customer-centric solution to recycle all different types of lithium-ion batteries.

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Spoke & Hub network

  • checkmark We have multiple operational Spoke recycling facilities in North America and Europe, with the flexibility for expansion.
  • checkmark The Rochester Hub is designed to process up to 35,000 tonnes of black mass per year.
  • checkmark The Rochester Hub is expected to be the first commercial hydrometallurgical battery resource recovery facility and the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate production in North America.
  • checkmark Li-Cycle, in partnership with Glencore, is studying the feasibility of, and later develop, a Hub resource refining and recovery facility in Portovesme, Italy, to produce critical battery materials.

Our Team

The people dedicated to solving the problems of tomorrow.

Leadership

Ajay Kochhar, President and CEO, co-founder - Li-Cycle
Ajay Kochhar

President and CEO,
co-founder

Ajay Kochhar is the President, CEO, and co-founder of Li-Cycle.

Responsible for strategic oversight of Li-Cycle’s various functional business units, which includes Commercial, Technical (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality/HSEQ, Operations, Commercialization, Research and Development) and Shared Services. Additionally, Ajay supports the development of international growth initiatives for the company in collaboration with Li-Cycle’s Corporate Development team.

Before founding Li-Cycle, Ajay gained extensive technology and project development experience through progressive roles with Hatch’s industrial cleantech and advisory practices. While working in that space, he garnered in-depth engineering and project management experience through clean technology development in the lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and rare earth metals industries. His technical expertise spans the entire project lifecycle, from conceptual and pre-feasibility studies to construction and commissioning.

Born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, Ajay comes from entrepreneurial roots, having gained experience from a young age via a family business. An ardent music enthusiast, he is a classical guitarist who maintains the hobby even now for enjoyment.

Ajay is a graduate of the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Chemical Engineering.

Tim Johnston
Tim Johnston

Executive Chair,
co-founder

Tim Johnston is Li-Cycle’s co-founder and Executive Chairman.

With more than 15 years of experience, Tim has overseen the development and operation of batteries, metals, industrial minerals, and large infrastructure assets. Prior to Li-Cycle, Tim worked as a Senior Consultant for Hatch, specializing in project management and transactional analysis for their global lithium business. While there, Tim managed the development of projects across the lithium-ion battery value chain for companies such as SQM, Rockwood Lithium (Albemarle), Bacanora Minerals, AMG-NV, Rio Tinto, Galaxy Resources, and other key developers.

As the co-founder and Chairman of Li-Metal and the Director of Lacero Solutions, Tim brings a wealth of knowledge to his current position with Li-Cycle, where his portfolio consists of overseeing research and development, as well as leading capital projects and operations.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Tim currently calls Toronto, Canada home. An avid surfer and skateboarding enthusiast, he spends much of his free time at the gym or travelling.

A graduate of the University of Queensland’s Mechanical Engineering Program, Tim is a chartered professional engineer and CFA charter holder.

Debbie Simpson, Chief Financial Officer at Li-Cycle
Debbie Simpson

Chief Financial Officer

Effective February 1, 2022, Debbie Simpson will lead the Li-Cycle finance function in support of the company’s growth and international expansion plans. With more than 30 years of finance and public company experience, Debbie is an accomplished senior executive with experience in financial and strategic leadership, capital funding, and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Debbie served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a carbon neutral, sustainable, protein company with revenues of approximately $4 billion and over 13,000 employees. Before that, she was Vice President and Treasurer of Vincor International Inc., a leading global producer and distributor of wines, with operations across several countries.

Before moving to Canada in 2000, Debbie lived and worked in Scotland. She began her career with Ernst & Young and obtained her professional accounting designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Accountancy and a Master of Science in Accountancy and Finance from the University of Stirling, Scotland.

She is a passionate advocate for advancing women, with a focus on women’s health and education, and volunteers her time as the Board Chair of Women’s College Hospital Foundation and the Board Chair of Havergal College.

Chris Biederman, Chief Technical Officer - Li-Cycle
Chris Biederman

Chief Technical Officer

Chris Biederman is a Professional Engineer with 15 years of process engineering experience. He joined Li-Cycle in 2020 as the company’s Chief Process Engineer and was quickly promoted to Chief Technical Officer.

Chris brings extensive expertise to his current role, having acted as Lead Process Engineer for numerous large and small EPCM projects in the mining industry. He has experience working on greenfield and brownfield projects and overseeing bench-scale and pilot-scale testing. Chris is also a skilled project manager with a robust history leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams and delivering successful projects. Previous to his role with Li-Cycle, he spent time at Hatch as a Senior Engineer and Technology Commercialization Portfolio Manager; he is also the Founder and Managing Director of Biederman Engineering.

At Li-Cycle, Chris’ portfolio includes the management of the company’s intellectual property portfolio, the commercialization of intellectual property, and oversight of capital projects. He also provides technical leadership for the organization.

A native of Hamilton, Canada, Chris is a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Chemical Engineering program and is a registered engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Carl DeLuca, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Li-Cycle
Carl DeLuca

General Counsel

Carl DeLuca is Li-Cycle’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

With nearly 25 years of legal and public company experience, Carl leads Li-Cycle’s legal and regulatory functions in support of the company’s global expansion plans. He also manages the organization’s corporate governance processes through the Board and its committees.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Carl served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for gold producer Detour Gold Corporation, where he facilitated the company’s stabilization, resulting in a 95% stock price increase.

Carl also held various roles at Vale Canada Limited, including Head of Legal for North American Operations and M&A/Strategic Projects while there, he played a key role in the company’s gold streaming transactions on Vale’s copper mine in Brazil, delivering $1.7 billion in aggregate proceeds.

Carl, a barrister and solicitor, was born and raised in Ontario, and currently calls Toronto home. He holds his LL.B. from the University of Windsor, where he received the R.L. Deshield Award for having achieved the second highest standing in his graduating class, and holds an H.B.A and a B.A. in History and French from The University of Western Ontario.

Christine Barwell
Christine Barwell

Chief Human Resources Officer

Christine Barwell is Li-Cycle’s Chief Human Resources Officer and is responsible for Li-Cycle’s overall HR strategy, function, and processes.

Christine has over 20 years of HR experience and is a seasoned human resources leader who has built and managed global teams through periods of rapid growth. She brings more than a decade of progressive HR experience in the mining sector preceded by over a decade in HR professional services at PwC.

Before joining Li-Cycle, Christine was Vice President, Human Resources, at Alamos Gold where she oversaw the global HR strategy and policy framework, regulatory compliance, succession planning, and the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion mandate.

Christine received a Masters of Business Administration from McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business with a specialty in digital transformation. She holds a number of HR designations including Certified Human Resources Leader, Global Remuneration Professional, and Certified Compensation Professional and recently completed the Diversity and Equity certificate program from Cornell University.  She is based in Toronto, where she lives with her family.

Nahla Azmy, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations - Li-Cycle
Nahla A. Azmy

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Financial Communications

Nahla leads Li-Cycle’s investor relations activities and provides strategic guidance to the company’s leadership regarding investment community perspectives.

With over 20 years as a senior investor relations officer and former equity analyst, Nahla has developed investor relations programs for companies experiencing high growth and transformation. She has a proven and trusted track record with the investment community for fair and consistent communication and outreach. A veteran of the lithium-ion industry, she brings deep experience, passion, and a results-driven nature to Li-Cycle’s global expansion.

Before joining Li-Cycle, Nahla was Vice President and head of investor relations at Ecovyst (formerly PQ Corp) following its IPO, where she contributed to the company’s transformation. Prior to Ecovyst, she established and led transformational investor relations programs for Versum Materials (acquired by Merck AG), Alcoa (separated into three companies), Rockwood Holdings (acquired by Albemarle), and NRG Energy. Prior to NRG, she was an equity analyst with a top-ranked power research team.

Nahla holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from Colgate University.

Dawei Li, Regional President, APAC - Li-Cycle
Dawei Li

Regional President, APAC

Dawei Li is the Regional President, APAC at Li-Cycle.

Dawei brings more than 15 years of experience in strategy development and leading growth in untapped markets at international companies to his role at Li-Cycle. Focused on the Asian market, he oversees Li-Cycle’s team, business development, and the rollout of commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facilities across the continent.

Before joining Li-Cycle, Dawei served as the Global Business Director for battery-grade lithium carbonate at the Albemarle Corporation where he developed growth strategy and executed on business development plans and commercial negotiations in key regions resulting in robust performance. Previously, he held roles at Eastman Chemical Company, managing global product lines, leading growth initiatives, and launching efforts to generate demand for existing products while commercializing novel ones. Dawei began his career in Shanghai, China working for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In his spare time, he is an avid soccer player.

Dawei holds a BBA in Marketing from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Richard Storie
Richard Storrie

Regional President, EMEA

Richard Storrie is the Regional President, EMEA of Li-Cycle.

Richard first joined Li-Cycle as Regional President, Americas of in January 2022. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing Li-Cycle’s operations, commercial activities, and execution of its growth strategy in the Americas region.

In June 2023, he was appointed Regional President, EMEA and is responsible for developing and expanding the Li-Cycle business in the EMEA markets, driving profitable growth, and ensuring the Company’s market leadership position. He is also responsible for the EMEA Spoke & Hub Technology operations, commercial functions, as well as oversight of all other aspects of the Li-Cycle EMEA business.

With more than 26 years of operational, technical, and strategic development experience in the metals and mining industry, Richard possesses a deep understanding of the battery metals supply chain.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Richard served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Diavik Diamond Mine, owned by Rio Tinto, one of the largest metals and mining corporations in the world. Throughout his nearly 26-year tenure with Rio Tinto, Richard has worked in its top tier open-pit and underground operations in several regions, including Rio Tinto’s multi-billion-dollar Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

Richard served as an officer in the British Royal Marine Commandos and acquired an Honours degree in Mining Engineering from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.

 

Tom Biddulph
Tom Biddulph

Senior Vice President, Enterprise Process Improvement

Tom is the Senior Vice President, Enterprise Process Improvement at Li-Cycle.

Tom brings over 30 years of experience in the mining and metals sector with extensive experience leading teams across strategy, transformation, commercial, project, and technical roles. At Li-Cycle, Tom is responsible for the company’s strategy decision support, IT function, integrated business planning , and building efficient workflows and process improvements that support the company’s growth and strengthen connectivity between its commercial, operations, and finance teams.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Tom was the Head of Strategy and Transformation at Vale Base Metals, and  before that, held increasingly senior roles at Rio Tinto in Australia, Canada and Africa.

Tom holds Bachelor degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Science from the University of Sydney.

Board of Directors

Ajay Kochhar, President and CEO, co-founder - Li-Cycle
Ajay Kochhar

President and CEO,
co-founder

Ajay Kochhar is the President, CEO, and co-founder of Li-Cycle.

Responsible for strategic oversight of Li-Cycle’s various functional business units, which includes Commercial, Technical (Health, Safety, Environment and Quality/HSEQ, Operations, Commercialization, Research and Development) and Shared Services. Additionally, Ajay supports the development of international growth initiatives for the company in collaboration with Li-Cycle’s Corporate Development team.

Before founding Li-Cycle, Ajay gained extensive technology and project development experience through progressive roles with Hatch’s industrial cleantech and advisory practices. While working in that space, he garnered in-depth engineering and project management experience through clean technology development in the lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and rare earth metals industries. His technical expertise spans the entire project lifecycle, from conceptual and pre-feasibility studies to construction and commissioning.

Born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, Ajay comes from entrepreneurial roots, having gained experience from a young age via a family business. An ardent music enthusiast, he is a classical guitarist who maintains the hobby even now for enjoyment.

Ajay is a graduate of the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Chemical Engineering.

Tim Johnston
Tim Johnston

Executive Chair,
co-founder

Tim Johnston is Li-Cycle’s co-founder and Executive Chairman.

With more than 15 years of experience, Tim has overseen the development and operation of batteries, metals, industrial minerals, and large infrastructure assets. Prior to Li-Cycle, Tim worked as a Senior Consultant for Hatch, specializing in project management and transactional analysis for their global lithium business. While there, Tim managed the development of projects across the lithium-ion battery value chain for companies such as SQM, Rockwood Lithium (Albemarle), Bacanora Minerals, AMG-NV, Rio Tinto, Galaxy Resources, and other key developers.

As the co-founder and Chairman of Li-Metal and the Director of Lacero Solutions, Tim brings a wealth of knowledge to his current position with Li-Cycle, where his portfolio consists of overseeing research and development, as well as leading capital projects and operations.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Tim currently calls Toronto, Canada home. An avid surfer and skateboarding enthusiast, he spends much of his free time at the gym or travelling.

A graduate of the University of Queensland’s Mechanical Engineering Program, Tim is a chartered professional engineer and CFA charter holder.

Susan Alban
Susan Alban

Director

Susan Alban currently serves as the Chief People Officer and an Operating Partner at Renegade Partners, where she supports the firm’s portfolio companies across all areas of Human Resources. Ms. Alban brings deep expertise in operations and product, especially around launches.

Previously, Ms. Alban was the VP of People at Zume, a General Manager at Uber, as well as a group product manager at eBay, working in partnership with PayPal to drive improvements across eBay’s e-commerce funnel. Ms. Alban started her career at McKinsey & Company, where she was a management consultant for healthcare and consumer products businesses, with a focus on M&A and growth. After McKinsey, she joined CHB Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm, where she invested and worked closely with CHB’s portfolio companies.

Ms. Alban was nominated by Peridot Acquisition Sponsor, LLC as one of its two nominees for election to the Board and is expected to be designated as an independent director. In addition to bringing skills and expertise in human resources and executive compensation matters, Ms. Alban’s addition to the Board is expected to enhance the balance of both independence and gender-diversity on the Board.

Ms. Alban has a degree in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jacqueline Dedo, Non-Executive Director
Jacqueline Dedo

Director

Jacqueline Dedo has more than 40 years of experience across a variety of functions and verticals, with a focus on strategy development and creating customer value. Ms. Dedo is co-founder of Aware Mobility, LLC, an organization focused on Mobility Platforms and Ecosystem enablement through development, investing, partnering and application of both Electrified Propulsion and Connectivity tools, platforms and applications.

She previously served as Chief Strategy and Supply Chain Officer for Dana Holding Corp. (NYSE: DAN), where she was responsible for leading the development of the company’s global growth strategy, in addition to supply chain and the Company’s strategic marketing initiatives. Ms. Dedo has held various leadership positions throughout her career at Piston Group, The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR), Motorola (NYSE:MSI), and Robert Bosch Corporation among others and has a proven background in managing full P&L responsibilities for major business units and entire companies responsible for up to $2 billion in revenue.

She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Cadillac Products Automotive Company, an internationally recognized leader in the plastics converting industry, and the Workhorse Group Inc. (Nasdaq: WKHS), an OEM for commercial electric delivery vehicles and delivery drones.

Ms. Dedo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.

Diane Pearse
Diane Pearse

Director

Diane Pearse currently serves on the board of MSA Safety, Inc., a manufacturer, and supplier of safety products to protect workers and facility infrastructures in a variety of industries, and as a director of Basic American Foods, Inc., a privately held food manufacturing company. Ms. Pearse was previously a C-Suite executive, having held CEO, COO, and CFO roles for several companies. She retired as CEO and President of Hickory Farms, LLC, a multi-channel food products retailer, in January 2022.

Her other roles have included COO and Executive Vice President of Finance for Garrett Brands, a privately held consumer products company; Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at Redbox Entertainment, Inc., a video entertainment, and distribution company; and CFO of Crate and Barrel, a home furnishings retailer. Her financial expertise was developed through progressive roles within the finance functions of Amoco Corporation and BP, leading multinational oil and gas companies.

Ms. Pearse currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business and on the board of directors of Uniting Voices Chicago, a not-for-profit organization that supports music education. Ms. Pearse was included in Crain’s 2019 Notable Women Executives over 50 and in Women Inc. Magazine’s 2019 Most Influential Corporate Directors.

She is a member of The Chicago Network and a member of The Women Corporate Directors Foundation. Ms. Pearse graduated Bronze Tablet from the University of Illinois-Urbana with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, and obtained an MBA in Finance, with honours, from DePaul University.

Scott Prochazka, Non-Executive Director, Li-Cycle
Scott Prochazka

Director

Scott Prochazka is a director of Li-Cycle. He most recently served as a director of Peridot Acquisition Corp. Prior to that, Mr. Prochazka was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of CenterPoint Energy, an NYSE-listed, Fortune 500 energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations (“CenterPoint”) from January 1, 2014 to February 20, 2020. Prior to that role, Mr. Prochazka held several positions at CenterPoint since 2011, including Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President and Division President, Electric Operations. Currently, Mr. Prochazka is currently a director of Peridot Acquisition Corp. II. Mr. Prochazka received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.

Kunal Sinha
Kunal Sinha

Director

Kunal Sinha joined as Director in June 2022. Mr. Sinha has been with Glencore since 2012 and currently serves as Glencore’s Head of Recycling. Prior to his current role, Mr. Sinha was the CEO of Glencore’s North American Sulfuric Acid business. Prior to joining Glencore, he worked for six years in Management Consulting at ZS Associates. Mr. Sinha holds an MBA from the London Business School, an M.S. in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.

Anthony Tse
Anthony Tse

Director

Anthony has over 28 years of private and public corporate experience in numerous high-growth industries, spanning technology, media and telecoms, natural resources and specialty chemicals, and more recently the energy transition sectors, in particular the electric vehicle and lithium battery value chain. His roles have been predominantly in senior management, with a focus on strategy and development, M&A and corporate finance internationally – he has managed businesses and operations across four continents spanning Greater China and Asia region, Australia, North and South America.

Anthony has been a Board Director of Li-Cycle Corp. since 2019 and is also currently Chair of the Health Safety Environmental and Sustainability Committee. He is the former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Resources, where he served on the Board for 11 years and grew the company following its merger with Orocobre in 2021 to create Allkem to become one of the Top 5 lithium producers globally. He is also a Board Director of Li-Metal (CSE: LIM), a developer of lithium metal and lithium metal anode technologies for next-generation lithium solid-state batteries, as well as a Senior Advisor to Sicona Battery Technologies, a leading developer of silicon-composite materials for next-generation lithium battery anode technologies, a Strategic Advisor to Critical Resources (ASX: CRR) a natural resources company focused on developing lithium and other critical metals projects in Ontario Canada and Novalith Technologies, a developer of direct lithium extraction technologies.

Aside from his industry roles, Anthony is also a Senior Advisor to EMR Capital (a global natural resources investment group) portfolio of companies, with whom he is focused on upstream through to mid and downstream investments in the energy transition sector and was an Operating Partner with the Global Private Equity Group of Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN), a global asset management organization.

Mark Wellings, Non-Executive Director - Li-Cycle
Mark Wellings

Lead Director

Mark Wellings is a finance professional with over 30 years international experience in both the mining industry and mining finance sector. Mark initially worked in the mining industry both in Canada and Australia in exploration, development and production capacities. He then joined the investment dealer GMP Securities L.P. where he co-founded the firm’s corporate finance mining practice. During over 18 years at GMP, Mark was responsible for, and advised on, some of the Canadian mining industry’s largest transactions, both in equity financing and M&A. Since then he has been appointed to several public and private Board of Director’s and has spent the last few years at Infor Financial Inc. advising and raising capital for several companies.

Mr. Wellings is a Professional Engineer and holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Geological Engineering.

Our Awards and Recognition

Our history

Our past, present and future.

By safely and sustainably recycling lithium-ion battery materials, we create a local secondary supply of critical battery metals to meet the increasing demand for our clean energy future.

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Today

Global projects.

Rochester Hub

The Rochester Hub is expected to process up to 35,000 tonnes of black mass per year to sustainably produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and other critical battery materials.

France Spoke

The France Spoke is expected to utilize ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology to directly process full EV battery packs.

Norway Spoke

The Norway Spoke is expected to utilize ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology to directly process full EV battery packs.

Portovesme Hub

Li-Cycle, in partnership with Glencore, is studying the feasibility of, and later develop, a Hub resource recovery facility in Portovesme, Italy, to produce critical battery materials.

Past

Milestones reached.

2023

Germany Spoke

The Germany Spoke started operations at its first main line in August 2023 and has the capability to directly process full EV battery packs without discharging or dismantling.

2022

Alabama Spoke

In October, the Alabama Spoke started operations with the capability to process full EV battery packs without the need for dismantling or discharging.

2022

Arizona Spoke

In May, the Arizona Spoke started operations with the capability to process full EV battery packs without the need for dismantling or discharging.

2021

NYSE: LICY

Li-Cycle goes public, and LICY begins trading on the NYSE.

2020

New York Spoke

Started operations as the first U.S.-based Spoke in Li-Cycle’s network.

2020

Ontario Spoke

In May, Li-Cycle’s Ontario Spoke is upgraded and has the capacity to process 5,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year.

2019

Ontario Spoke

In July, Li-Cycle’s first commercial Spoke is fully commissioned in Kingston, ON, with the capacity to process 2,500 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries per year.

2018

Demonstration Spoke & Hub

Our team successfully launches Li-Cycle’s Demonstration Spoke & Hub in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

2017

Mini Pilot

Li-Cycle starts building it’s first mini-pilot in Canada with the capacity to recycle 50 tonnes per year.

2016

Founding

Recognizing the importance of creating a more efficient and sustainable recovery process for critical battery materials from spent lithium-ion batteries, Li-Cycle is founded by Ajay Kochhar and Tim Johnston.