ROCHESTER, N.Y. If you have a smartphone it’s probably powered by a lithium battery.
A local company recycles them to help build the batteries that power electric cars. Ajay Kochhar runs Li-Cycle. On Monday, News10NBC learned 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 the lithium, cobalt and nickel and sells that material to make new electric batteries. Without those chemicals, you can’t make the batteries.
Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle CEO: We used to work in the lithium space. We saw all this lithium getting wasted and we thought, well that’s crazy. How is that any better than hydro-carbons? So that’s why we’re called Li-Cycle.
Senator Chuck Schumer quoted the federal Department of Energy.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D) New York: With this investment, Li-Cycle is going to become, listen to this, Li-Cycle is going to become the largest supplier of lithium carbonate in all of America.
The batteries are small, but Li-Cycle is building a plant at the Eastman Business Park that fits 50 football fields.
Brean: When the battery goes on my phone or goes in the toy in my son’s electric dinosaur, that battery is going to end up with you and you’re going to recycle it?
Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle CEO: Yep, that’s right. So you have to find local collection centers. They’re often at retail stores. Those groups take it, separate the batteries and give it to us.
Only 10 percent of lithium batteries are recycled. The industry needs that to be 90 percent. You can recycle yours at the county’s eco-park behind the airport or at stores like Best Buy, Lowes, Target, Sprint and Verizon.
