Electra Battery Materials Corporation announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Three Fires Group (TFG) to form a joint venture focused on the recycling of lithium-ion battery waste in Ontario underpinned by Electra's propriety black mass processing capabilities that recover high value elements, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite. Under the joint venture, Electra and the Three Fires Group will collaborate to source and process lithium-ion battery waste generated by manufacturers of current and future battery cells, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. The waste will be processed at a facility to be located in southern Ontario to produce black mass material that will be further refined using Electra's proprietary hydrometallurgical process at its refinery complex north of Toronto to recover high value elements, including Lithium, nickel, copper, manganese, and graphite. As part of the MOU, Electra and the Three fires Group have agreed to work together to secure a net-zero industrial facility that can be used to shred and separate lithium-ion batteries and produce black mass material.

The joint-venture partners have also agreed to collaborate on the development of economic studies of sourcing of engineering, procurement, construction, and management requirements necessary to launch the battery waste recycling facility. Several electric vehicle facilities are moving forward across the treaty areas of the Three Fires Confederacy in southwestern Ontario, including recent announcements by the Volkswagen Group, LG-Stellantis, Toyota and GM CAMI. In parallel, southwestern Ontario is seeing dozens of proposals for transmission grid connected battery energy storage systems. Research firm MarketsandMarkets estimates the lithium-ion battery recycling market to grow to $35.1 billion by 2031, from $6.5 billion in 2022.