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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Canada-Based Li-Cycle Corporation Locates U.S. Facility in Monroe County, New York

01/20/2020
Li-Cycle Corporation, a North America based lithium-ion battery resource recovery company, will establish its first US-based facility in Eastman Business Park in Monroe County, New York.

According to Empire State Development, the company will set up operations in an effort to tap into the robust lithium-ion battery supply chain in the United States and the lithium-ion battery ecosystem in Rochester. Li-Cycle selected EBP for this facility after determining it as the best location for the company to provide services to its growing client base to the South and Midwest. The company has also committed to creating a minimum of 23 jobs in its first year of operation. Li-Cycle expects to be fully operational at the facility later this year.

Founded in 2016 in Ontario, Canada, Li-Cycle was awarded a grant through Sustainable Development Technology Canada to construct a demonstration facility. With that facility fully operational, the company is now ready to undertake the first phase of its commercialization process at EBP. The company will initially occupy 57,000 square feet of a preexisting process building and is considering additional phases for the project in the coming years.

Ajay Kochhar, CEO and Co-Founder of Li-Cycle said, “As the United States and world enter an unprecedented phase of growth for electric vehicles and electro-mobility, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and the critical materials within them are crucial for the industry’s success. Li-Cycle is proud to be bringing our sustainable technologies and approaches to the EBP, as Li-Cycle’s first United States-based commercial facility. The facility will foster the development of closed loop lithium-ion battery resource recovery in the State of New York and the broader United States market. In turn, we are pleased to support the creation of high-quality jobs in the Finger Lakes region and look forward to our continued growth in the EBP.”

In exchange for job creation commitments, ESD is assisting Li-Cycle with up to $450,000 through the Excelsior Jobs Program as an incentive. Monroe County and Greater Rochester Enterprise are also assisting with the project. The total project cost has been placed at up to $23.3 million over a three-year period.

This project builds on the success story that is the rebirth of Eastman Business Park (EBP), where more than 6,000 people work at 114 companies now operating, Empire State Development officials said.

Eastman Business Park President and Kodak CFO Dave Bullwinkle said, “We welcome Li-Cycle to the energy storage eco-system at Eastman Business Park. Li-Cycle’s battery content recovery operations are the perfect complement to Kodak’s battery coating and cell assembly services and the Best Test & Commercialization Center run by DNV-GL. Li-Cycle joins energy storage tenants including Plug Power, Nohms Technologies, Energy Materials Corporation and Graphenix Development, Inc. Li-Cycle operations will take advantage of the amazing utility and service infrastructure available at Eastman Business Park, reducing costs and speeding time to market.”

Matt Hurlbutt, president and CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise said, “We’re delighted Li-Cycle plans to establish its first US-based lithium-ion battery recycling center in Rochester, NY, close to its corporate headquarters as well as customers. Li-Cycle’s game-changing technology will be well supported by the unique infrastructure and battery and energy storage expertise available at Eastman Business Park here in Rochester, NY.”

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