RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. has signed an amended and restated joint venture agreement with Taiwan’s Zenith Chemical Corporation.

The companies, in a 50/50 joint venture, are building a commercial plant in Taiwan. Once complete, it will utilize RecycLiCo’s advanced hydrometallurgical recycling process to convert approximately 2,000 tonnes of black mass material per year into battery-grade lithium-carbonate, lithium hydroxide and precursor cathode active material for lithium-ion battery manufacturing.

Black mass is produced by the battery recycling process, and contains metals essential to battery production.

In a release from July, the Taiwanese facility was estimated to cost $34 million.

“We are very pleased with the progress of the joint venture, and excited by the prospect of a ramp-up in the near future,” Zarko Meseldzija, CEO of RecycLiCo (AMY-X), said in a statement.

Surrey, B.C.-based RecycLiCo’s patented process results in up to 99 per cent extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese from lithium-ion battery waste.

NFI Group partners with American Battery Solutions

Winnipeg-based NFI Group Inc. has partnered with American Battery Solutions (ABS) for the supply of custom battery packs to power NFI’s battery-electric transit buses and coaches in North America.

NFI (NFI-T) entered into a five-year agreement with ABS in 2021 and, following two years of development and testing, NFI is launching ABS batteries into bus production for customer deliveries starting in Q1 2024. ABS will act as a second battery supplier to NFI and will support NFI’s battery-electric production ramp-up, planned for 2024 and 2025.

The ABS batteries use a nickel-manganese-cobalt cell and fit into NFI’s existing battery enclosures.

“Demand for battery-electric buses is accelerating, and we are leading the evolution to zero-emission public transportation. Our partnership with ABS will provide NFI with the capacity, flexibility and resiliency we need as we ramp up production at our facilities across North America,” Chris Stoddart, NFI’s president of North American bus and coach, said in a statement.

“ABS has made significant investments in their pack assembly and battery technology, providing us with industry-leading solutions. We look forward to working together with ABS to advance battery technology for public transportation.”

NFI has electric vehicles operating, or on order, in more than 140 cities in six countries. Its battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches have collectively travelled over 120 million miles globally.

NFI also recently announced its subsidiary, New Flyer of America, was awarded a two-year contract from the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority for 160 Xcelsior 40-foot clean-diesel transit buses with options to purchase up to 50 additional buses.

Vision Marine delivers electric powertrain to Four Winns

Vision Marine Technologies Inc. has delivered its zero-emission E-Motion electric powertrain to Groupe Beneteau's Four Winns production facility in Michigan.

These will be the inaugural electric motors integrated ointo the Four Winns H2e Bowrider. The boats will be showcased at the Dusseldorf boat show from January 20 to 28, 2024.

The boats will then be delivered to their future owner, becoming the first-ever electric boats coming off the Four Winns production line destined for consumer ownership.

“The pioneering efforts of Groupe Beneteau and their dedicated production team, in crafting a specialized assembly line for electric boats, not only sets the course for the future,” Alexandre Mongeon, Vision Marine’s (VMAR-Q) CEO, said in a statement, “but also fortifies Four Winns with a distinct advantage against any subsequent boat manufacturer venturing into electrification."

The E-Motion is a fully electric, 180 horsepower (135 kilowatt, 70 kilowatt-hour power bank) powertrain system. It requires 90 per cent less maintenance than a combustion engine, the company says.

In August 2022, the V32, a 32-foot catamaran designed by Vision Marine and Hellkat Powerboats and equipped with two E-Motion electric outboards, broke the world record for the fastest electric boat. It blazed across the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri at 175.4 km/h, beating the previous record of 142.5 km/h.

Montreal-based Vision Marine was founded in 1995 as the Canadian Electric Boat Company.

Groupe Beneteau offers nine recreational boat brands, including Four Winns. In 2022, the company recorded $2.2 billion in revenues, employing around 8,000 people, primarily in France, the U.S., Poland, Italy and Portugal.