Li-Cycle Holdings Stock Price, News & Analysis

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. (NYSE: LICY) is a lithium-ion battery resource recovery company that focuses on recycling battery materials and recovering critical battery-grade inputs. Established in 2016, Li-Cycle describes itself as a global business with major customers and partners across the lithium-ion battery supply chain. The company’s stated mission is to recover critical battery-grade materials and help create a domestic closed-loop battery supply chain that supports a clean energy future.

Li-Cycle operates using its patent-protected Spoke & Hub Technologies™. According to the company, its Spokes are pre-processing facilities where it recycles battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. These Spokes produce black mass, a powder-like material that contains valuable metals, including lithium, nickel and cobalt. Li-Cycle states that its future Hubs, or post-processing facilities, are planned to process this black mass into critical battery-grade materials, such as lithium carbonate, for use in the lithium-ion battery supply chain.

Business model and operations

Based on company disclosures, Li-Cycle’s business centers on providing lithium-ion battery recycling services and resource recovery to participants in the global battery ecosystem. Its feedstock includes battery manufacturing scrap, end-of-life batteries, and materials from battery energy storage systems (BESS). The company reports that it works with electric vehicle (EV) original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), battery cell and material producers, miners and raw material buyers as part of its commercial relationships.

Li-Cycle has highlighted its Spoke network as a core operational focus. The company reports that it operates Generation 3 Spoke recycling facilities and is working on optimization initiatives intended to enhance Spoke performance and support what it describes as a financially accretive and self-sufficient Spoke business. The Spokes are designed to handle different types of lithium-ion batteries and battery-related materials, including full-pack batteries and BESS modules, to produce black mass and equivalents.

In addition to its Spokes, Li-Cycle has outlined plans for Hub projects that would post-process black mass into battery-grade materials. The company has identified a flagship Rochester Hub project in the United States and has discussed a potential European Hub project in Portovesme, Italy, in collaboration with Glencore. According to Li-Cycle, the Portovesme concept and pre-feasibility study is expected to be led and funded by Glencore, with Li-Cycle providing technical expertise and its Spoke & Hub Technologies™.

Industry context and partnerships

Li-Cycle positions itself within the lithium-ion battery recycling and critical minerals supply chain. The company states that its activities support domestic energy independence and onshoring of energy supply chains by recovering materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from spent batteries and manufacturing scrap. It has emphasized its role in supporting the U.S. energy industry and broader energy storage markets, including BESS deployments that serve grid-scale applications and data center-related energy demand for artificial intelligence technologies.

The company reports that its customers and partners include EV OEMs, battery manufacturers, and other battery supply chain participants. Li-Cycle has disclosed exclusive recycling agreements with premium and high-performance EV manufacturers for its Germany Spoke, as well as partnerships with BESS companies across the U.S. It has also highlighted collaboration with Glencore on the Portovesme Hub study, where black mass would be supplied from Glencore’s commercial network and Li-Cycle’s Spoke facility near Magdeburg, Germany.

Spoke & Hub Technologies™

Li-Cycle’s Spoke & Hub Technologies™ are described as patent-protected and designed to recycle all different types of lithium-ion batteries. At the Spokes, the company reports that it can process battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries, including full-pack batteries regardless of form factor and without the need to dismantle or discharge, to produce black mass. This black mass contains multiple valuable metals that can be further processed.

The planned Hubs are intended to convert black mass into critical battery-grade materials, including lithium carbonate, for use in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. Li-Cycle has indicated that such Hubs, including the proposed Portovesme facility and the Rochester Hub project, are expected to provide post-processing recycling capacity that supports localized and sustainable secondary supply of battery materials.

Geographic footprint and markets served

From its public statements, Li-Cycle presents itself as a global company with operations and projects in multiple regions. The company has referenced Spoke facilities in the United States and Germany and a potential Hub project in Italy. It has also described its commercial footprint in the European Union through recycling agreements that channel feedstock from EV manufacturing facilities to its Germany Spoke.

In the United States, Li-Cycle reports that it partners with BESS companies and that BESS accounted for a significant portion of its recycling feedstock in a recent period. The company has also emphasized its engagement with U.S. policy developments, such as the “Unleashing American Energy” Executive Order, and its closed and binding loan facility with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) related to the Rochester Hub project.

Capital markets and listing status

Li-Cycle’s common shares have traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LICY. The company has disclosed that the NYSE notified it of a suspension of trading and the initiation of delisting procedures because the average closing price of its common shares was below $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period and the company had effected a reverse stock split within the prior one-year period. Li-Cycle has stated that it expects to begin trading on the OTCQX® Best Market under the symbol LICYF and that it does not plan to appeal the NYSE’s delisting determination. The company has also indicated that it plans to list its common shares on another eligible market in accordance with the terms of its convertible debt.

In addition to exchange-related developments, Li-Cycle has conducted underwritten public offerings of units and pre-funded units in the United States under an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. The company has described the structure of these offerings, including common shares, pre-funded warrants and Series A and Series B warrants, and has indicated that proceeds are intended for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Strategic focus areas

Across its public communications, Li-Cycle has highlighted several ongoing priorities. These include:

• Securing funding to restart construction of the Rochester Hub project and satisfy conditions for the first advance under its DOE loan facility.
• Optimizing Spoke operations to enhance performance and cash flow and to support a self-sufficient Spoke business.
• Expanding commercial relationships with EV OEMs, battery manufacturers, BESS providers and other battery supply chain participants in the U.S. and EU.
• Supporting domestic and regional energy supply chains by recovering critical minerals from spent batteries and manufacturing scrap.

Role in the battery and energy ecosystem

According to Li-Cycle, its recycling and resource recovery activities contribute to the development of a closed-loop battery supply chain. By producing black mass and planning to produce battery-grade materials at future Hubs, the company aims to provide a secondary source of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other materials that are important for lithium-ion batteries.

The company has linked its work to broader policy and market themes, including U.S. energy independence, domestic critical mineral production, and European Union targets for recycled content and strategic raw material recycling. Through its partnerships and projects, Li-Cycle presents itself as an ecosystem participant that can process lithium-ion battery materials and support both EV manufacturing and energy storage markets.