09.19.22
On The Heels of Delivering Over $63M For An Upstate Battery Research And Manufacturing Consortium, In Partnership With RIT And NY-BEST – Schumer Breaks Down How Finger Lakes Is Already Sparking The Next Phase Of Growth In Bringing Battery Production Back To America
Rochester’s Li-Cycle Is At The Forefront Of Lithium Battery Recycling And Poised To Benefit BIG From Billions In The Just Passed Inflation Reduction Act & Investments Made In The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Senator Says New Fed Electric Vehicle Incentives Will Be A Lightning Rod For Li-Cycle To Grow And Is Launching A New Push For Department Of Energy Loan To Ignite This Momentum
Schumer: It Is Time For The Feds To Jolt Manufacturing, Supercharge Good-Paying Rochester Jobs, And Power The Future Of Battery Research And Production In The Finger Lakes!
Following his championing of the largest investment in clean energy in history, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today revealed how the Inflation Reduction Act new consumer Electric Vehicle Tax Credit that will create a huge new market for clean battery-powered vehicles made with locally-sourced or recycled minerals such as the Lithium, Cobalt, and Nickel produced by Li-Cycle in Rochester, instead of minerals sourced from places like China. To meet the additional demand for locally-sourced battery minerals that will be fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, Li-Cycle will need to accelerate and ramp up the growth of its Rochester operations and workforce. So today, Schumer is announcing his push to help Li-Cycle tap some of the billions in new grants and loans provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IJJA) to help Li-Cycle make that jump to expand over the coming years to provide new growth opportunities for Li-Cycle and its Rochester, NY workforce. Today, Schumer announced his support for Li-Cycle to pursue these new investments beginning with its grant application to the Department of Energy’s $3.1 billion Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Program, created by the IIJA, to invest in the growth of its Rochester operations and workforce.
Li-Cycle’s next phase of growth also comes as Schumer just delivered over $63 million in federal funding for the New Energy New York Upstate battery research and manufacturing consortium, of which the Rochester Institute of Technology and NY-BEST are major partners. Schumer said with companies like Li-Cycle growing, the Finger Lakes is set to be a national hub for the rapidly growing American battery industry, bringing good-paying jobs back from overseas and setting the region to be a leader in an industry that will define the next century.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is the jolt of electricity the Finger Lakes needs to supercharge its growing battery research and manufacturing industry and to help make Rochester a leader in battery technology. Right now China dominates the battery industry, but thanks the federal investment I just delivered companies like Li-Cycle and Upstate’s New Energy New York consortium are poised to make the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier America’s next hub for battery manufacturing and mineral production. We can and will bring these good-paying jobs back from overseas and make sure the future of technology is made by Rochester workers,” said Senator Schumer. “That is why I am launching a major new push to spark more growth in Rochester by helping Li-Cycle tap major Department of Energy investments that will accelerate Li-Cycle’s plans for 200+ jobs. This plan will reduce our reliance on China, strengthen America’s battery supply chain, and make it so the heart of electric vehicles, which will soon dominate our roads, is made with battery components from right here in the Finger Lakes.”
“We are thrilled to have hosted Senator Schumer at our Rochester Hub facility and thank him for his leadership in sponsoring the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, both monumental developments for a clean energy future and job growth across the United States,” said Ajay Kochhar, co-founder and CEO of Li-Cycle. “We expect that this legislation will accelerate the growth of the EV and stationary energy storage industry and we believe Senator Schumer’s visit further validates the importance of our Rochester Hub facility and the positive impact it will have for the supply of domestic critical materials.”
“Battery recycling is a critical part of the domestic supply chain for battery manufacturing in the U.S. The innovative processes adopted by Li-Cycle help reduce unnecessary waste, reuse important battery components for further product use and help protect our environment while growing our economy . We greatly appreciate Senator Schumer’s continued support for New York’s battery and energy storage industry,” said Dr. William Acker, Executive Director of NY-BEST.
Leah George VanScott, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Greater Rochester Enterprise said, “We are thrilled to be here today supporting the advancement of Li-Cycle’s state of the art technology in Rochester as GRE helped Li-Cycle locate its US operation at Eastman Business Park and continue to work with company leadership to support their growth and success here.”
“New York has always been a leader in green energy and innovative technology, and Li-Cycle continues that legacy by leveraging our core assets to invest in sustainable infrastructure,” said Congressman Morelle. “Their continued growth helps strengthen our regional economy while shrinking our carbon footprint. I’m grateful to Senator Schumer for his leadership and commitment to investing in local organizations like Li-Cycle, and I look forward to our continued work together to create jobs in this growing field and build a more sustainable future.”
Schumer said batteries are integral to everyday life, helping to power mobile phones, laptops, smart watches, and electric vehicles, but unfortunately, much of the manufacturing of this critical technology has been offshored, leaving the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that can raise costs for working families and jeopardize U.S. jobs and national security. Rochester, however, recently became home to Li-Cycle, a cutting-edge battery recycler, which is opening a new North American Hub that is slated to bring over 200 good-paying jobs to Eastman Business Park. This production facility will take old batteries and extract the key components for re-usable minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel to help make new batteries for major suppliers like GM, LG, and others, and is an integral process as the U.S. seeks to make more of these components for electric vehicles here at home. Once completed, the Rochester Hub is expected to be the first commercial hydrometallurgical battery resource recovery facility as well as the first new significant source of battery-grade lithium carbonate production in North America.
Schumer explained the Inflation Reduction Act creates new consumer Electric Vehicle Tax Credits that will create a huge new market demand for clean battery-powered vehicles. But to get the tax credit, car makers will be required to use minerals made or recycled in the U.S. at places like Li-Cycle, not from China. Schumer said that this will create a huge new demand for the Li-Cycle-produced minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. To meet the additional demand for locally-sourced battery minerals that will be fueled by the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, Li-Cycle will need to accelerate and ramp up the growth of its Rochester operations and workforce. Schumer said the upcoming 220-job Rochester battery mineral recycling HUB that Li-Cycle will open next year will be just the start as the overall market grows significantly in years to come.
So today, Schumer is announcing his push to help Li-Cycle tap some of the billions in new grants and loans provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help Li-Cycle make that jump to ramp up over the coming years to provide new growth opportunities for Li-Cycle and its Rochester, NY workforce.
Specifically the new consumer Electric Vehicle Tax Credits in the IRA would provide new growth opportunities for Li-Cycle and its Rochester, NY workforce. The Inflation Reduction Act expands consumer tax credits for clean vehicle purchases by providing a new tax credit of $4,000 for the sale of used clean cars and expanded tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of certain new clean vehicles that meet domestic content and critical mineral content requirements that scale over time, as well as specifications on the cost of the vehicle and its final assembly. This domestic content requirement for critical minerals in batteries for the Clean Vehicle Credit is expected to increase the demand for recycled critical minerals from Li-Cycle’s Rochester Hub and is expected to enable Li-Cycle to grow its business and create additional economic growth locally and in North America.
Schumer said together both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) combined provide an unprecedented federal investment towards energy security and the fight against climate change, including provisions to support domestic manufacturing of critical materials for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States that Li-Cycle and the industry is eligible to tap to continue growing. Specifically, the Inflation Reduction Act includes up to $500 million for the Defense Production Act to create a domestic supply of minerals needed for battery production, up to an additional $250 billion in Department of Energy (DOE) clean energy loans and $10 billion in Advanced Energy Project tax credits to build and expand clean tech manufacturing facilities, up to $60 billion in Production Tax Credits to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of clean energy products and supply chains such as solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel. Access to federal financing opportunities, such as the Production Tax Credit, will play an important role in Li-Cycle’s continued growth, particularly in Rochester.
Similarly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides $6 billion for federal incentives to build a domestic battery production industry and a battery mineral supply chain industry, bolstering domestic battery production and shoring up the American supply chain for batteries and energy storage technology that is often reliant on foreign sources. Schumer announced he is now pushing for Li-Cycle to access these loan and grant investments beginning with its application for an investment out of the DOE’s $3.1 billion Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing fund to accelerate and ramp up the development of its Rochester operations and workforce.
Schumer recently wrote to Department of Energy Secretary Granholm in support of Li-Cycle’s application and explained, these opportunities will accelerate the ability of clean tech companies like Li-Cycle to scale up and grow to hire more workers, including in Rochester.
Schumer said these major federal investments that Li-Cycle can use to grow couldn’t come at a better time as the Finger Lakes, along with the Southern Tier, is poised to become America’s next major lithium battery research hub thanks to over $63 million the senator secured for the New Energy New York consortium through the EDA Build Back Better Region Challenge. Led by Binghamton University, in partnership with RIT and NY-BEST, and under the leadership of Dr. Stan Whittingham, the 2019 winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on the development of lithium ion batteries, the project is slated to be a game changer for battery research and manufacturing in America, bringing battery innovation back to the U.S. and preparing Upstate workers for careers in this high-demand field. For over a year, Schumer personally advocated to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo through multiple calls and events for the selection of the project in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier, bolstering the project to be selected as one of 21 final awardees from out of 529 applications from across the nation. Schumer, Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger, and Dr. Stan Whittingham, even all joined forces and penned a joint op-ed on the importance of bolstering battery technology for America’s future to further promote the cause.
In addition to Li-Cycle and the New Energy New York project, Schumer’s efforts to make New York a leader in the future of battery research and technology is already seeing results across the state. Earlier this year following his direct appeal, Zinc8, a leader in cutting-edge battery and energy storage technology, officially signed a letter of intent to make Ulster County their first major manufacturing hub as the company looks towards commercialization, which will bring up to 500 good-paying clean energy jobs to New York, with the company directly citing the Inflation Reduction Act and Schumer as a deciding factor in the company’s decision to invest in New York.
A copy of Schumer’s letter of support to Department of Energy Secretary Granholm appears below:
Dear Secretary Granholm:
I am pleased to write in support of the application submitted by Li-Cycle through the Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing funding opportunity. Funding will enable Li-Cycle’s North American Hub in Rochester, NY to become one of the largest facilities and sources of recycled lithium in the world.
Li-Cycle plays a unique and critical role in both manufacturing and the supply chain of battery materials. As lithium batteries become increasingly relied on worldwide for a variety of purposes, there has become a desperate need to ensure we not only have a strong domestic supply chain, but also that there is a clean and sustainable way to recycle these materials. Li-Cycle is at the forefront of these efforts; between their current and planned spokes they will soon have a processing capability of up to 45,000 tons per year in North America and 20,000 tons per year in Europe.
With this funding, Li-Cycle will be able to construct their hub in Rochester, NY, allowing them to process thousands of tons of black mass a year to produce critical materials such as nickel sulphate, lithium carbonate, and cobalt sulphate in the US. With plans to create 220 direct jobs in the local workforce, combined with the national security interest of keeping these minerals in our domestic supply chain, Li-Cycle’s environmentally friendly process will have wide reaching impacts on both the Rochester area and the entire nation. Li-Cycle would be positioned as the number one US-based secondary recycling supplier of battery grade materials all with minimal environmental impact, no wastewater, and no direct emissions.
I applaud Li-Cycle for its foresight and sincerely hope the application meets with your approval.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
###
