American Battery Technology Co. (ABTC), a battery materials recycler and refiner, has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recycle end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) from the largest LIB cleanup operation in the EPA’s history.
ABTC’s primary focus is the safe handling and processing of the site’s damaged battery materials. It has made significant enhancements to its Nevada recycling facility to prepare for the materials processing and has been receiving large-scale shipments of it over the last several weeks.
The cleanup project comes after a fire broke out at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, a grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) site in Northern California, in January. The fire affected approximately 100,000 LIB modules, requiring specialized handling, packaging, transportation, and recycling in accordance with EPA oversight.
ABTC underwent an audit and review process, after which it received formal EPA approval for its facility to receive waste material under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
“This unprecedented cleanup effort highlights the critical importance of building and deploying advanced domestic critical mineral recycling infrastructure capable of addressing the growing challenges of managing damaged lithium-ion batteries in a safe and responsible manner,” ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert said in a statement.
He continued, stating, “The work being done on this cleanup between industry leaders and regulators is establishing safety and materials management standards for future large-scale battery facilities while demonstrating the viability of domestic recycling solutions for critical battery materials.”
ABTC is now EPA-approved as one of the only battery recyclers in the Western U.S. capable of receiving damaged batteries classified as “CERCLA waste,” which includes battery materials that have been involved in large-scale BESS thermal events and fires.
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