Li-Cycle Corp. has announced it has been named to the 2021 Global Cleantech 100 company list by the Cleantech Group for a second consecutive year.   Â
The 2021 Global Cleantech 100 is the 12th edition of the respected annual guide to the leading companies and themes in sustainable innovation. This year’s list includes innovators from 15 countries, with just over half located in the US and the rest hailing from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. The sectors covered include Agriculture & Food, Enabling Technologies, Energy & Power, Materials & Chemicals, Transportation & Logistics and Resources & Environment.
“It’s an honor to be selected as a Global Cleantech leader once again,” said Li-Cycle CEO Ajay Kochhar. “This achievement is really an affirmation of our company’s mission. 2020 has been a significant year of growth for us as we continued expansion with the commissioning of our Commercial Spoke 2 in New York state, making us the largest lithium-ion battery recycling company in North America.”
Li-Cycle’s industry-leading innovations make it uniquely positioned to support a key element of the growing international movement towards zero-carbon technologies. The company’s solution plays a critical role in achieving a truly closed-loop system within the lithium-ion supply chain while contributing to the creation of a circular economy.
According to Circular Energy Storage’s (CES) recent studies, over 2 million tonnes per year of lithium-ion batteries are forecasted to reach their end-of-life globally by 2030. By 2040, an estimated 559 million electric vehicles will be on the road worldwide. The capacity of global lithium-ion battery energy storage installations is projected to skyrocket over 50 times during that same time.
Lithium-ion batteries have commonly been impractical to efficiently recycle, resulting in the generation of hazardous waste and the loss of valuable materials. Recognizing the lithium-ion battery recycling industry challenges, Li-Cycle was founded in 2016; the company developed and validated its Spoke & Hub Technologies that allow for the recovery of ≥95% of all battery-grade materials found in Li-ion batteries, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
The list combines Cleantech Group’s research data with qualitative judgments from nominations and insight from a global, 91-member Expert Panel of leading investors and executives from corporations and industrials active in technology and innovation scouting. From pioneers and veterans to new entrants, the Expert Panel broadly represents the global cleantech community and results in a list with a powerful base of respect and support from many important players within the cleantech innovation ecosystem.
“We are delighted to welcome 50 companies for their first time on this year’s new Global Cleantech 100. This replacement rate speaks to the healthy maturing of this innovation ecosystem and to some specific impacts of Covid-19,” said Richard Youngman, CEO, Cleantech Group. “On the one hand, the 2021 list reflects the long-running mega-trends like decarbonization, digitization, electrification, and the ever-increasing volumes of deployed renewable energy. On the other, Covid-19’s impact is evident – for example, in the uptick in automation and robotics-enabled solutions, in logistics and supply chain solutions, and solutions in the food chain to prevent, reduce and repurpose food waste. Resilience is a new critical factor at play.”
For detailed information on Li-Cycle’s outlook as an innovator, visit Cleantech Group’s market intelligence platform i3 and search for Li-Cycle.
