Glencore makes Li-Cycle purchase official

Glencore Canada Corp., a division of Swiss mining and commodity trading company Glencore PLC, has acquired Toronto-based lithium-ion battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.

According to a Rochester Business Journal report, the deal was completed through a credit bid and assumption of certain debt, which includes Li-Cycle’s spoke operations in Arizona, Alabama, New York, Ontario and Germany, as well as its intellectual property portfolio.

 “We’re excited for Li-Cycle to be part of Glencore and confident that this will bring continued value and enhanced service to our joint customers,” Glencore says in a brief statement announcing the purchase. The company says all future updates, services and support will now be provided through Glencore Battery Recycling, or GBR.

In May, Li-Cycle filed for creditor protection under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and, similarly, did so under Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. For years, the company invested to set up lithium-ion battery recycling collection and reprocessing facilities in both North America and Europe using what it called a “spoke-and-hub” model.

Glencore previously has been involved with Li-Cycle as both an investor and as an offtake partner for the recycler’s mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) product, which was to be produced at Li-Cycle’s long-planned hub facility in Rochester, New York.

The company dealt with financial struggles in recent years after a sharp spike in construction costs in late 2023 indefinitely paused construction on the Rochester campus. The company was awarded $475 million from the U.S. Department of Energy in late 2024 but had been unable to access the loan due to an inability to meet certain benchmarks tied to the hub’s construction. Glencore has not yet disclosed the status of the DOE loan.

In February, Li-Cycle was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange when its stock fell below the $1-per-share threshold for more than 30 straight days. Since the delisting, its stock had been trading on the OTCQX Best Market.