Pursuing Electric Vehicle Battery Production Target, General Motors Invests in Lithion Recycling Company

Illustration of recycled batteries. (Photo: Doc. Lithion Recycling)

JAKARTA - GM Ventures announced its partnership with an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycler in Canada, Lithion Recycling. Under this partnership, the arm of the automaker General Motors will strategically invest in a Series A financing round for Lithion to pursue a battery ecosystem using Lithion's advanced battery recycling technology.

"Working with GM marks a key step in Lithion's commercial development and pioneers the breakthrough needed in the cost-effective and sustainable electrification of transportation in the EV battery industry," said Benoit Couture, president and CEO of Lithion in a press release shared on Twitter.

We are proud to announce an investment from GM Ventures in our Series A financing round and a strategic partnership agreement with @GM to build a circular #EV battery ecosystem. https://t.co/9CfgWSB7Op#batteryrecycling #lithium-ion #circulareconomy

— Lithion (@Li_Recycling) September 22, 2022

The collaboration between GM and Lithion will focus on two things, including:

The company claims, with a recovery rate of more than 95 percent and using Québec green energy, Lithion's technology and operations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 75 percent and water use by more than 90 percent compared to mining battery materials.

This collaboration between GM and Lithion will focus on two things, including:

1. Validation of recovered Lithium battery materials for use in the production of new batteries, and the potential for obtaining battery materials.
2. Joint investment in research and development for recycling processes and future battery design recycling.

The company claims, with a recovery rate of over 95 percent and using Québec green energy, Lithion's technology and operations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 75 percent and water use by more than 90 percent compared to mining battery material.

GM has ambitions to produce up to 1 million battery cells and EVs in North America by 2025. GM also plans to eliminate exhaust emissions from all of our new light vehicles by 2035.

"So we're building a supply chain and recycling strategy that can grow with us," said Jeff Morrison, vice president of global purchasing and supply chain at GM.

Morrison saw an opportunity to recover and reuse EV batteries in Lithion technology.

"We see an opportunity to recover and reuse raw materials in our Ultium battery packs, making the EVs we manufacture more sustainable and helping lower costs," he added.

On the other hand, in 2023, Lithion will launch its first commercial recycling operation. In this facility Lithion will produce lithium-ion batteries up to 7,500 metric tons per year, followed by the launch of Lithion's first hydrometallurgical plant in 2025.