American Manganese unveils RecycLiCo process

American Manganese Inc. [AMY-TSXV, AMYZF-OTCPINK] on Wednesday April 17 unveiled a company innovation for recycling cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.

It is called RecycLico Patented Process.

“As pioneers in the advanced lithium-ion battery recycling market, American Manganese and its RecycLiCo Patented Process aim to promote a circular economy for the lithium-ion battery supply chain and set the standard for high recovery and purity of cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries,” said Larry Reaugh, President and CEO of American Manganese.

American Manganese wants to become an industry-leading miner of cathode metals from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Global warming is putting severe pressure on governments everywhere to reduce carbon emissions. That in turn is expected to result in sharply increased production and sale of electric vehicles.

The company said it recognized early on that significant growth in the electric vehicle market will eventually lead to supply strains in materials used to make lithium-ion batteries.

The company hopes to capitalize on the expected electric vehicle revolution through being able to take EV batteries, convert them into cathode materials of high purity that can go directly back into a battery.

The suite of cathode materials includes lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese and aluminum.

With the increasing “electrification of everything,” the demand for mined battery raw materials has tightened the lithium-ion battery supply chain as the end-of-life of first generation hybrid and electric vehicles raised questions about the adverse environmental impact of spent lithium-ion batteries.

American Manganese was early in recognizing these growing problems, and adapted its intellectual property focus to transform these problems into huge opportunities with its patented lithium-ion battery recycling process.

RecycLiCo is the culmination of this process, as the company finds it important, for investors and potential business partners, to distinguish the company’s mining assets from its breakthrough lithium-ion battery recycling innovation.

Mining metals from batteries, marks a change of focus for American Manganese, which had previously been engaged in trying to mine manganese from low-grade ore at a deposit in Arizona.

The RecycLiCo Patented Process is currently being tested on a pilot plant scale and has achieved high extraction results. Following completion of the pilot plant project, American Manganese plans to commercialize its operation with a joint venture partner or via licensing agreements.

Needing to secure a deal with a cathode scrap provider, American Manganese recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a partnership with Battery Safety Solutions B.V. (BSS).

BSS is a private Dutch company that specializes in the collection, discharging and dismantling of lithium-ion batteries.

The Dutch firm has developed a unique process that completely discharges a lithium-ion battery in a fraction of the time needed by conventional methods and then stores 100% of the discharged energy.

Once the battery is discharged, BSS can safely disassemble and sort lithium-ion battery components.

The MOU was signed after bench scale tests on disassembled battery samples sent to American Manganese by BSS yielded positive results, utilizing the Surrey, B.C. company’s patented process.

Aside from its quick discharging process, BSS is expected to bring to the partnership its expertise in European marketing, access to customers, and experience with safe handling.

On Wednesday, shares of American Manganese eased 3.3% or $0.005 to 14.5 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 13 cents and 23.5 cents.