Li-Cycle recognized for impact in building a more sustainable battery materials supply chain and accelerating the movement towards decarbonization

TORONTO / Apr 17, 2023 / Business Wire / Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. (NYSE: LICY) (“Li-Cycle” or the “Company”), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a winner for the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Pioneers Award for 2023.

Li-Cycle was recognized in the ‘Sustainable Metals and Materials for an Electrified Future’ category of the BNEF Pioneers Award for its patented and proven commercial Spoke & Hub Technologies™. This technology enables up to a 95% recycling efficiency rate and returns valuable battery-grade materials found within lithium-ion batteries and battery manufacturing scrap into the supply chain. Li-Cycle’s commitment to sustainability is core to its business model, which uses innovative technology to ensure its operations have an efficient environmental footprint, including processes that have minimal solid waste streams to landfill, minimal wastewater discharge, and relatively low air emissions.

"We are honoured to be selected as a 2023 BNEF Pioneers award winner,” said Li-Cycle’s co-founder and CEO, Ajay Kochhar. “This prestigious award recognizes Li-Cycle’s innovative and sustainable recycling technologies, which are playing a critical role in accelerating global decarbonization. We are continuing to scale globally to grow in lockstep with our customers and position ourselves as the world’s preferred lithium-ion battery recycling partner as we build a closed-loop battery supply chain.”

BNEF is a leading strategic research provider covering disruptive technologies on the pathways to drive the transition to a low-carbon economy. For more than a decade, the BNEF Pioneers program has identified a group of game-changing technologies or innovations annually – each with the potential to accelerate global decarbonization and halt climate change. The winners, who were evaluated by a team of lead analysts at BNEF, proved they offer a novel, scalable, and competitive solution and were judged on their potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental sustainability, innovation, and likelihood of adoption.

The full list of winners is available at: https://about.bnef.com/bnefpioneers/.

Spoke & Hub Technologies™

Li-Cycle’s Spokes, the first stage of the Company’s vertically-integrated business model, safely recycle battery materials through a proprietary submerged shredding process to produce ‘black mass,’ an intermediate product which contains highly valuable metals, including lithium, nickel, and cobalt. Li-Cycle’s ‘Generation 3’ Spokes have the capability to directly process full electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage battery packs without any manual dismantling, which enhances safety and efficiency.

Li-Cycle currently operates four Spokes in North America with a total processing capacity of 51,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year. Li-Cycle is growing in Europe, with its Germany Spoke expected to start operations in mid-2023, and new Spokes being developed in Norway and France, which will bring Li-Cycle’s future planned capacity across its global Spoke network to more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year.

At Li-Cycle’s Hub facilities, the second stage of its vertically integrated process, Li-Cycle will process black mass to produce battery-grade materials. Li-Cycle’s first commercial Hub facility is under construction in Rochester, New York (the “Rochester Hub”) and is on track to commence commissioning in late 2023. The Rochester Hub is expected to be the first-of-its-kind commercial facility and the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate in North America. It is designed to process the equivalent of up to approximately 90,000 tonnes, or 18 GWh, of lithium-ion battery material per year. Once fully operational, the Rochester Hub is expected to deliver annual production of 7,500 to 8,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, 42,000 to 48,000 tonnes of battery-grade nickel sulphate, and 6,500 to 7,500 tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, in addition to other valuable materials. The Rochester Hub is expected to be one of the largest sources of lithium supply in North America.

About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.

Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) 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 battery-grade 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 battery manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as “believe”, “may”, “will”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “should”, “would”, “could”, “plan”, “potential”, “future”, “target” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements about: Li-Cycle’s expected role in accelerating global decarbonization; the expectation that Li-Cycle will continue to scale globally and position itself as the world’s preferred lithium-ion battery recycling partner; the expected commencement of operations at Li-Cycle’s Germany Spoke in mid-2023; the expected total processing capacity across Li-Cycle’s Spoke network in North America and Europe; the expectation that Li-Cycle will process black mass to produce battery-grade materials at its Hub facilities; the expected commencement of commissioning of the Rochester Hub in late 2023; the expectation that the Rochester Hub will be the first-of-its-kind commercial facility and the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate in North America; and the expectations regarding the processing capacity and annual production at the Rochester Hub. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, made by Li-Cycle management, including but not limited to assumptions regarding the timing, scope and cost of Li-Cycle projects; the processing capacity and production of Li-Cycle facilities; Li-Cycle’s ability to source feedstock and manage supply chain risk; Li-Cycle’s ability to increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms; Li-Cycle’s ability to obtain $375 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program; Li-Cycle’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners; expected regulatory processes and outcomes in connection with Li-Cycle’s business; general economic conditions; currency exchange and interest rates; compensation costs; and inflation. There can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct and, as a result, actual results or events may differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Li-Cycle and are not guarantees of future performance. Li-Cycle believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: Li-Cycle’s inability to economically and efficiently source, recover and recycle lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap, as well as third party black mass, and to meet the market demand for an environmentally sound, closed-loop solution for manufacturing waste and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries; Li-Cycle’s inability to successfully implement its global growth strategy, on a timely basis or at all; Li-Cycle’s inability to manage future global growth effectively; Li-Cycle’s inability to develop the Rochester Hub and its Spoke network in a timely manner or on budget or that those projects will not meet expectations with respect to their productivity or the specifications of their end products; Li-Cycle’s failure to materially increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle may engage in strategic transactions, including acquisitions, that could disrupt its business, cause dilution to its shareholders, reduce its financial resources, result in incurrence of debt, or prove not to be successful; one or more of Li-Cycle’s current or future facilities becoming inoperative, capacity constrained or if its operations are disrupted; additional funds required to meet Li-Cycle’s capital requirements in the future not being available to Li-Cycle on commercially reasonable terms or at all when it needs them; Li-Cycle expects to incur significant expenses and may not achieve or sustain profitability; problems with the handling of lithium-ion battery cells that result in less usage of lithium-ion batteries or affect Li-Cycle’s operations; Li-Cycle’s inability to maintain and increase feedstock supply commitments as well as securing new customers and off-take agreements; a decline in the adoption rate of EVs, or a decline in the support by governments for “green” energy technologies; decreases in benchmark prices for the metals contained in Li-Cycle’s products; changes in the volume or composition of feedstock materials processed at Li-Cycle’s facilities; the development of an alternative chemical make-up of lithium-ion batteries or battery alternatives; Li-Cycle’s revenues for the Rochester Hub are derived significantly from a single customer; Li-Cycle’s insurance may not cover all liabilities and damages; Li-Cycle’s heavy reliance on the experience and expertise of its management; Li-Cycle’s reliance on third-party consultants for its regulatory compliance; Li-Cycle’s inability to complete its recycling processes as quickly as customers may require; Li-Cycle being subject to the risk of litigation or regulatory proceedings; Li-Cycle’s inability to compete successfully; increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or disagreements with tax authorities; significant variance in Li-Cycle’s operating and financial results from period to period due to fluctuations in its operating costs and other factors; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates which could result in declines in reported sales and net earnings; unfavourable economic conditions, such as consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic; natural disasters, unusually adverse weather, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, cyber incidents, boycotts and geo-political events; failure to protect or enforce Li-Cycle’s intellectual property; Li-Cycle may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties; Li-Cycle’s failure to effectively remediate the material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting that it has identified or if it fails to develop and maintain a proper and effective internal control over financial reporting.

These and other risks and uncertainties related to Li-Cycle’s business and the assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based are described in greater detail in the sections entitled “Item 3D. Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Factors Affecting Li-Cycle’s Performance” and elsewhere in its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada on February 6, 2023.

Li-Cycle assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Li-Cycle’s assessment as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.