Singapore-based Green Li-ion says it is “leading the charge” in lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling and the circular economy with technology it calls “more efficient and effective” than others it has studied.

The company, co-founded by Singaporeans Leon Farrant and Dr. Reza Katal, uses technology the duo started developing a decade ago. The Green Li-ion “rejuvenating technology,” the company says, has produced a lithium-ion recycling method “that is 10 times quicker, costs a quarter of the original amount and produces 99.9 percent pure cathodes, all with the technological specs and figures to prove it.”

The technology is “able to recycle a myriad of LIB types at once using one machine alone, the GLMC-1,” states the firm. Batteries that can be recycled in the GLMC-1 include those found in mobile phones, tablets and laptops, according to Green Li-ion.

The GLMC-1’s technology is based on a co-precipitation sequence and control system that can process various types of spent LIBs. “This revolutionary co-precipitation method allows the recovery of cathode metal salts in their original form, without separation of the metal elements, speeding up the recycling process by two to three times,” says the firm.

The obtained metal salts then serve as the precursor for synthesis of new cathode material that can form the basis for new LIBs, “closing the loop to form a circular energy economy,” says Green Li-ion. The technology can be applied to enhance existing LIB recycling processes to increase purity and profitability, but can also serve as a stand-alone system for recycling and cathode manufacturing.

Since its debut, Green Li-ion has raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding, “graduating with the highest funding in their Entrepreneur First Singapore 2020 cohort of 10 companies, despite the global pandemic and economic downturn,” says the firm.

One of Green Li-ion’s investors is HAX, a hardware startup accelerator with offices in China, the United States and Japan that is owned by U.S.-based venture fund SOSV. Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, chair of the Circular Economy Task Force at the National University of Singapore also serves on Green Li-ion’s advisory board.

The company is targeting a global market for LIBs that may have reached 2 million metric tons per year and could grow rapidly, depending on the market share fortunes of electric vehicles (EVs).

“With the growing scarcity of lithium in existing salt flats and overall demand for the raw chemical of lithium compound growing exponentially, from less than 100,000 metric tons per year in 2015 to a projected 700,000 metric tons by 2025, it is clear that letting precious lithium-ion compounds waste away in landfills is a deeply flawed economic model,” states Green Li-ion.

The River Metals Recycling (RMR) subsidiary of the Cincinnati-based David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ) has announced the acquisition of scrap processing locations in Ashland, Kentucky; Coeburn, Virginia; and Charleston, West Virginia.

The recycling plants were acquired from Mississippi-based Columbus Recycling, which retains ownership and will continue to operate its nine other facilities in Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky.

The three facilities acquired by DJJ had been operating under the name CRHC Mansbach Metal LLC. Mansbach Metal was formerly part of Alabama-based Progress Rail Corp., which is itself a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. The Mansbach locations, which include an auto shredder in Ashland, changed hands in 2017 when Progress Rail sold them to Columbus Recycling.

RMR now operates 17 locations in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia and Alabama, including auto shredders in Ashland, Newport and Louisville, Kentucky. “The addition of these new locations, including a shredding operation in Ashland, is consistent with RMR’s growth strategy and demonstrates DJJ’s commitment to expanding its regional recycling platforms,” the scrap firm says. 

Columbus Recycling is owned by Florida-based Trivest Partners LP.

Nicolas Belanger, the executive vice president of sales of Vaughn, Ontario-based Torxx Kinetic Pulverizer Ltd., died in mid-September, one week before his 50th birthday, according to the company.

“Our hearts are heavy, and we’re stunned by the untimely and devastating passing of our colleague, friend and industry icon,” says Peter Everson, Torxx chairman. “Nicolas has been instrumental in moving our company—and the industry—forward over the last 25 years. He is a talented engineer and strong business leader; whose industry knowledge and experience are second to none. He is greatly missed, and we share the grief of his family, friends and colleagues—including his wife Nadine who continues to be a valued member of the Torxx family. We’re determined to carry on Nicolas’ legacy by executing his vision to provide superior products that deliver tangible customer value.”

Torxx refers to Belanger as “highly respected by colleagues and customers, who agree he made major contributions to the industry, developing cutting edge waste and recycling technologies and creative design solutions throughout his career.”

Belanger was the former co-owner of Plessisville, Quebec-based Machinex Industries Inc., where he worked for more than 20 years to help that firm gain market share as a provider of equipment and systems for the materials recovery facility (MRF) sector.

Belanger also is the co-founder, co-owner and president of Trois-Rivières, Quebec-based Waste Robotics. Eric Camirand, his business partner and the CEO of that firm, comments, “I have always appreciated Nicolas' intelligence, expertise, frankness, quick-wittedness and passion. His departure will leave an immeasurable void.”

Joe Sloan of Sloan Vazquez McAfee, who collaborated frequently with Belanger during his career, adds, “He became known as the ‘MRF Whisperer…The Jedi-Master/Obi-Wan Kenobi’ of recycling plant design and operation … a true pioneer.”

In addition to his wife, Nadine, Belanger is survived by his daughter, Brittany, and son, Joshua. The family invites those wishing to remember Nicolas to make donations to the childhood cancer support organization THON on this webpage.

United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, has appointed Kenneth Jaycox as senior vice president and chief commercial officer. Jaycox succeeds Douglas R. Matthews, who will retire in January 2021. Jaycox will report to U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt as a member of the company’s executive management team.

In the new position, Jaycox will have responsibility for all aspects of U. S. Steel’s North American flat-rolled commercial activities, U.S. Steel reports in a news release on Jaycox’s appointment. He will focus on customer satisfaction, innovation, new business and market share growth.

“We are building a more customer focused company with our ‘best of both’ strategy, and now it’s time to take it to the next level with Ken at the lead,” Burritt says. “With his deep commercial, operating and transformation experience, he brings new insights to accelerate our capabilities. Ken has a unique skillset with diverse non-metal background, where customer-centric, focused differentiation was critical. He will help us realize our ambition as the innovative, material solutions leader for our customers.”

Prior to joining U.S. Steel, Jaycox held a variety of executive roles at Sysco Corp. in transformation, sales development and support as well as revenue management for the business. Most recently, he led the company’s business transformation along with local and national sales strategy as vice president of transformation. Before joining Sysco, Jaycox served as chief operating officer at International Traders/First American Carriers and vice president of category development and distribution as well as vice president of procurement at Compass Group North America (Foodbuy).

Earlier in his career, Jaycox held roles with the Coca-Cola Co., including vice president/group director of national sales as well as the Dr. Pepper/7Up Co. and the Pepsi Bottling Co. where he worked in national and local sales strategy, pricing and revenue management, customer management and improvement in processes and teams.

Jaycox has a bachelor’s degree in communications and marketing from Saint Louis University in St. Louis.