Li-Cycle Named to the Annual Global Cleantech 100 for the Second Year in a Row

Leading lithium-ion battery resource recovery and recycling company recognized as a leader in sustainable innovation

Original article published on PR Newswire

Mississauga, ON, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Li-Cycle Corp. (Li-Cycle), North America’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling company, today announced it has been named to the 2021 Global Cleantech 100 company list by the Cleantech Group for a second consecutive year.     

The 2021 Global Cleantech 100 is the 12^th edition of the respected annual guide to the leading companies and themes in sustainable innovation. This year’s list includes innovators from 15 countries, with just over half located in the US and the rest hailing from Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. The sectors covered include: Agriculture & Food, Enabling Technologies, Energy & Power, Materials & Chemicals, Transportation & Logistics and Resources & Environment.

“It’s an honour to be selected as a Global Cleantech leader once again,” said Li-Cycle CEO Ajay Kochhar. “This achievement is really an affirmation of our company’s mission. 2020 has been a significant year of growth for us as we continued expansion with the commissioning of our Commercial Spoke 2 in New York state, making us the largest lithium-ion battery recycling company in North America.”

Li-Cycle’s industry-leading innovations make it uniquely positioned to support a key element of the growing international movement towards zero carbon technologies. The company’s solution plays a critical role in achieving a truly closed-loop system within the lithium-ion supply chain, while contributing to the creation of a circular economy.

According to the Circular Energy Storage’s (CES) recent studies, over 2 million tonnes per year of lithium-ion batteries are forecasted to reach their end-of-life globally by 2030. By 2040, an estimated 559 million electric vehicles will be on the road worldwide. The capacity of global lithium-ion battery energy storage installations is projected to skyrocket over 50 times during that same time.

Lithium-ion batteries have commonly been impractical to efficiently recycle, resulting in the generation of hazardous waste and the loss of valuable materials. Recognizing the lithium-ion battery recycling industry challenges, Li-Cycle was founded in 2016; the company developed and validated its Spoke & Hub Technologies that allow for the recovery of ≥95% of all battery-grade materials found in Li-ion batteries, including lithium, cobalt and nickel.

The list combines Cleantech Group’s research data with qualitative judgements from nominations and insight from a global, 91-member Expert Panel of leading investors and executives from corporations and industrials active in technology and innovation scouting. From pioneers and veterans to new entrants, the Expert Panel broadly represents the global cleantech community and results in a list with a powerful base of respect and support from many important players within the cleantech innovation ecosystem.

“We are delighted to welcome 50 companies for their first time on this year’s new Global Cleantech 100. This replacement rate speaks to the healthy maturing of this innovation ecosystem and to some specific impacts of Covid-19,” said Richard Youngman, CEO, Cleantech Group. “On the one hand, the 2021 list reflects the long-running mega-trends like decarbonization, digitization, electrification, and the ever-increasing volumes of deployed renewable energy. On the other, Covid-19’s impact is evident – for example, in the uptick in automation and robotics-enabled solutions, in logistics and supply chain solutions, and solutions in the food chain to prevent, reduce and repurpose food waste. Resilience is a new critical factor at play.”

For detailed information on Li-Cycle’s outlook as an innovator, visit Cleantech Group’s market intelligence platform i3 and search for Li-Cycle.

About Li-Cycle Corp.
Li-Cycle Corp. (Li-Cycle) is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologies to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of critical battery materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage the end-of-life of these batteries – and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade materials through a closed-loop solution.

About Cleantech Group
At Cleantech Group, we provide research, consulting and events to catalyze opportunities for sustainable growth powered by innovation. We bring clients access to the trends, companies and people shaping the future and the customized advice and support businesses need to engage external innovation.

Industries are undergoing definitive transitions toward a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future. At every stage from initial strategy to final deals, our services bring corporate change makers, investors, governments and stakeholders from across the ecosystem, the support they need to thrive in this fast-arriving and uncertain future.

The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco with people based in London, Paris and Boston.