Li-Cycle appoints new regional president of Americas

Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a lithium-ion battery recycler based in Toronto, has appointed Richard Storrie as regional president of Americas. Storrie will oversee Li-Cycle’s recycling operations and commercial activities as well as its growth strategy in the Americas region. He will start with the company Jan. 24.

According to a news release, Li-Cycle has adopted a regional management structure to support the acceleration of the company’s global growth plans. Under the new structure, regional presidents will oversee recycling operations, commercial activities and business development activities in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.

Storrie brings more than 26 years of operational, technical and strategic development experience in the metals and mining industry, and possesses a deep understanding of the battery metals supply chain. Throughout his career, Li-Cycle says Storrie has made significant contributions to advancing mining assets in the world and developing multibillion-dollar operations. Storrie will report to Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle’s president, CEO and cofounder.

"We’re excited to welcome Richard to the Li-Cycle team as we continue to expand and reinforce our presence as the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America,” Kochhar says. “Richard has extensive experience working in the battery metals supply chain and will play an important role in supporting our ability to scale and meet the rapidly growing demand for lithium-ion battery recycling.”

“Li-Cycle is proving that lithium-ion battery recycling is a viable, sustainable complement to mining for critical battery-grade materials in the long term,” Storrie says. “I look forward to leveraging my extensive experience with scaling mining operations at Li-Cycle as the company helps to solve an urgent global challenge—the need for an environmentally and economically sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling solution.”

Before joining Li-Cycle, Storrie served as president and chief operating officer of the Diavik Diamond Mine, owned by Rio Tinto, a mining company based in Melbourne, Australia. During his 26-year tenure with Rio Tinto, Storrie worked in its open-pit and underground operations in several regions, including its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. Storrie has worked with governmental, diplomatic and industry leaders while at Rio Tinto. He also was a member of the Rio Tinto EU Steering Committee, helping develop the company’s strategy within the European Union.

Storrie served as an officer in the British Royal Marine Commandos and acquired an honors degree in mining engineering from Newcastle University in the UK.

In addition to Storrie’s appointment, Li-Cycle has promoted Dawei Li to regional president, APAC. Li-Cycle cofounder Tim Johnston has assumed the role of interim regional president, EMEA, and Kunal Phalpher has transitioned from the role of chief commercial officer to chief strategy officer of the company.