ENERGY
businesswire | March 28, 2023
Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, has signed a definitive agreement (“agreement”) for a global lithium-ion battery recycling partnership with the KION Group (“KION”), a leading global provider of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions. The Company is also pleased to announce plans to develop a new lithium-ion battery recycling facility in France, underpinned by regional commercial demand, including KION’s lithium-ion battery recycling needs.
Under the partnership, Li-Cycle will recycle lithium-ion batteries from KION’s global brands using its proprietary and innovative submerged shredding technology that is safe, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. The agreement, which is for an initial period until 2030, has designated Li-Cycle as KION’s preferred global recycling partner to ensure that KION batteries are recycled sustainably.
“Li-Cycle is excited to be designated as KION’s preferred global recycling partner, as we continue to grow and diversify our customer portfolio to advance our expansion plans in Europe and help drive a sustainable and localized battery ecosystem,” said Tim Johnston, co-founder and Executive Chair of Li-Cycle. “Through our partnership, Li-Cycle expects to support both KION’s recycling needs and KION’s ability to align with the EU’s battery regulations. Together, we will build a circular battery supply chain and further support the clean energy transition.”
“With this strategic partnership, we are taking an important step towards the circular economy that we want to implement for our products,” said Henry Puhl, chief technology officer of KION. “The collaboration with Li-Cycle will further strengthen our position in the area of sustainability.”
“Li-Cycle's sustainable Spoke & Hub process enables up to 95 percent of the mass of a lithium-ion battery to be recovered and the critical minerals contained in those batteries to be used to manufacture new batteries,” commented Andreas Krinninger, member of the Executive Board of KION. “This makes us one of the pioneers in the material handling industry in the field of recovery and recycling of lithium-ion batteries.”
KION currently has a global fleet of more than 1.7 million industrial trucks, which includes forklift and warehouse trucks, and is the largest industrial truck manufacturer in the EMEA region. Through the partnership, batteries from KION’s electric industrial trucks will be recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner to support the development of a sustainable, innovative, and localized battery supply chain in Europe. Li-Cycle expects to commence recycling of KION’s batteries at its Spoke in Germany, with start-up expected in mid-2023.
Li-Cycle Expands European Spoke Network Plans to France
The Company is expanding its planned European Spoke network with the development of a new recycling facility in France. The growing lithium-ion battery ecosystem in France represents one of Europe’s largest battery end-of-life and cell manufacturing markets. This Spoke will be located in Harnes, in the Northern part of the country, where large global automotive OEMs have an established presence, and where plans to build three battery gigafactories have recently been announced.
As Li-Cycle continues to expand its operations in Europe, it is leveraging a highly replicable business model that the Company has proven in the North American market. The Company continues to strategically deploy Spoke recycling capacity in close proximity to key sources of supply of lithium-ion batteries and leverage its patented technology to continue to build upon its first mover advantage with an environmentally sustainable process.
Johnston commented, “Consistent with our strategy, Li-Cycle continues to scale in lockstep with our customers. As we advance the deployment of our highly replicable and proven Spoke & Hub model into the European market, our Spoke in France will better position us to support KION and the accelerating market growth in the country.”
Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France region where the France Spoke will be located, commented, “Hauts-de-France is proud to have been chosen by Li-Cycle to set up its first Spoke in France. This investment is very good news for our Region. Firstly, because it will create jobs, but above all, because it represents a new milestone for the ‘Battery Valley’ we are building in Hauts-de-France.”
Li-Cycle’s Spoke in France will be constructed in an existing building site with access to renewable energy. The plant is expected to have initial processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, with optionality to expand to up to 25,000 tonnes per year. The France Spoke is expected to leverage Li-Cycle’s ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology, which has the capability to directly process full electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage battery packs without any manual dismantling to enhance safety and cost-effectiveness. The France Spoke is expected to become operational in 2024 and is expected to 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.
Li-Cycle’s first European Spoke will be located in Germany and will leverage the Company’s ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology. The Germany Spoke is expected to be the Company’s largest Spoke facility to-date, with processing capacity for 30,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, including main line and ancillary processing capacity. Li-Cycle is also developing a ‘Generation 3’ Spoke in Norway, which is expected to have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year.
About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp
Li-Cycle 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/.
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INDUSTRY UPDATES
businesswire | April 25, 2023
Heliogen, Inc. a leading provider of AI-enabled concentrating solar energy technology, announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) rejected the unsolicited, non-binding proposal it received on April 13th from Continuum Renewables, Inc. (“CRI”) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Heliogen for cash consideration of $0.40 per share.
After careful consideration and consultation with legal and financial advisors, the Board concluded that the non-binding proposal substantially undervalues Heliogen. In fact, the proposal would result in an implied equity value for Heliogen common stockholders that is materially below Heliogen’s available liquidity. Additionally, the Board concluded that the proposal is subject to material contingencies, including CRI obtaining financing. Accordingly, the Board determined the proposal was not in the best interests of Heliogen and all of its stockholders.
“The Board remains fully committed to Heliogen’s management team and its strategic priorities of increasing sales, installing commercial projects and improving the Company’s financial position,” said Julie Kane, Chair of the Board. “We strongly believe that our new leadership’s execution of this dynamic plan is the best way to drive sustainable long-term value creation for all stockholders and is a superior path compared to CRI’s opportunistic proposal.”
About Heliogen
Heliogen is a renewable energy technology company focused on decarbonizing industry and empowering a sustainable civilization. The company’s concentrating solar energy and thermal storage systems aim to deliver carbon-free heat, steam, power, or green hydrogen at scale to support round-the-clock industrial operations. Powered by AI, computer vision and robotics, Heliogen is focused on providing robust clean energy solutions that accelerate the transition to renewable energy, without compromising reliability, availability, or cost.
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ENERGY
prnewswire | May 05, 2023
Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Energy), a leader in renewable energy and transmission infrastructure, announced it has selected Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR) and Hitachi Energy to build its SunZia Transmission and Wind project, which will enable access to over 3,500 MW of New Mexico wind power, providing clean, reliable, and affordable electricity across Western states.
Quanta was selected to provide a turnkey solution for the 550-mile 525kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) SunZia Transmission line that will deliver up to 3,000 MW of clean energy from the SunZia Wind project to the southwestern United States. In addition, Blattner Company, a Quanta operating company, was selected for the project to provide turnkey solutions for the SunZia Wind facility and associated switchyard, which includes the installation of more than 900 turbines, ten substations, multiple operations and maintenance facilities, and more than 100 miles of wind generation transmission lines.
Hitachi Energy will be supplying the HVDC Converter Stations and will utilize its HVDC Light® technology and MACH™ digital control platform for the SunZia Transmission project. This technology enables the efficient transfer and integration of huge volumes of renewable energy over long distances, significantly increasing the amount of clean power available for homes and businesses throughout the region.
"The SunZia project is changing the landscape for renewable energy, and we need to ensure we have the best team in place to help bring it to life," said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy. "We are selecting two industry leaders – Quanta and Hitachi Energy – to help build SunZia and deliver a world-class clean energy project that New Mexico, Arizona and the entire country can be proud of. Along with enough clean power for 3 million Americans, SunZia is bringing a far-reaching economic boost to the region, including the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and $20.5 billion dollars in expected economic impact."
"Quanta's selection for these projects builds on a long-standing customer relationship of our industry-leading renewable generation solutions company, Blattner Company, and we appreciate the confidence that Pattern Energy has placed in Quanta to execute on these critical and historic renewable energy projects," said Duke Austin, Quanta's President and CEO. "We believe our self-perform capabilities and vertically integrated solutions allow us to provide greater cost, schedule and quality certainty to our clients, which also benefits consumers, and that the comprehensive approach we are taking on the SunZia projects can serve as a model for the renewable and utility industries going forward."
"We are proud to be advancing a sustainable energy future for all in the southwestern United States, enabling Pattern Energy to integrate emission-free electricity into the regional grid serving the southwest," said Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Grid Integration business. "Our market-leading HVDC technologies combined with our execution expertise is what makes us the partner of choice to help the U.S. to achieve its carbon-neutral targets, by efficiently and reliably maximizing its renewable energy resources."
The SunZia Wind and SunZia Transmission projects have been developed with a deep commitment to local community engagement and environmental stewardship. A key initiative for SunZia has been following through on an extended engagement with local, regional, and national conservation stakeholders. As a result of this commitment and consultation, SunZia Transmission is setting a precedent with a gold standard in environmental mitigation efforts developed hand-in-hand with the environmental community. These range from restoring thousands of acres of wildlife habitat to investing in emerging technology and long-term conservation research. SunZia Wind has established robust environmental best practices to reduce project impacts and study effective habitat restoration strategies in partnership with local and state experts.
SunZia Transmission will open access to the western energy markets to SunZia Wind, the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere, which is comprised of more than 3,500 MW of new wind generation located in Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel Counties in New Mexico. SunZia Transmission is a 550-mile ± 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona with the capacity to transport 3,000 MW of clean, renewable energy. SunZia Transmission will enable SunZia Wind to supply customers in Arizona and California during the crucial early evening hours when demand is high but the available renewable energy supply is low.
Pattern Energy recently announced that the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind projects are expected to generate $20.5 billion dollars in total economic benefit, which includes over $8 billion of direct capital investment, at no added cost to ratepayers, according to the results of an independent study conducted by research firm Energy, Economic & Environment Consultants LLC. Together, the projects will generate an expected $1.3 billion in fiscal impacts that will go to governments, communities, and schools. These benefits are generated through sales and use taxes, property taxes, community benefit payments, and land payments to federal and state agencies.
The projects continue to work with federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as well as local jurisdictions and stakeholders, to finalize remaining approvals to allow construction to begin on schedule this year.
About Pattern Energy
Pattern Energy is one of the world's largest privately-owned developers and operators of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects. Its operational portfolio includes 35 renewable energy facilities that use proven, best-in-class technology with an operating capacity of nearly 6,000 MW in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Pattern Energy is guided by a long-term commitment to serve customers, protect the environment, and strengthen communities.
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