08:39 AM EDT, 06/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Electra Battery Materials ( ELBM ) on Thursday announced the completion of a feasibility level Class 3 Engineering Study for the construction of a modular battery recycling facility adjacent to its cobalt sulfate refinery north of Toronto.

A company statement noted that the facility will be designed to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite from lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries using the company's proprietary hydrometallurgical process. The next phase of work, to be partly funded by Natural Resources Canada, will involve operating the recycling process under continuous and semi-continuous conditions to simulate commercial-scale throughput.

The study outlined how black mass will be refined at the new facility to produce key battery materials, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. It added that the cobalt stream will serve as feedstock for its permitted cobalt sulfate refinery, which received financial backing from both the Government of Canada and the U.S. Department of Defense. It further added that its partnership with Aki Battery Recycling, a joint venture with the Three Fires Group, will provide a reliable and secure supply of black mass feedstock.

"We are advancing a clear pathway to a closed-loop, domestically sourced battery materials supply chain," said Electra Battery Materials ( ELBM ) Chief Executive Officer Trent Mell. "Cobalt recovered at the recycling facility will feed directly into our adjacent cobalt sulfate refinery, which is already in advanced construction, and other critical minerals will be returned to the battery supply chain. This integration strengthens North America's energy security and positions Electra as a first mover in the continent's emerging battery ecosystem."

The company stated that it plans to present the results of the engineering study to downstream partners, including battery manufacturers and OEMs, who have expressed interest in participating in the project.

In U.S. pre-market trading, Electra Battery Materials ( ELBM ) was last seen up 1.8% to $1.03.