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ELECTRA BEGINS PRELIMINARY DISCUSSIONS TO BUILD COBALT REFINERY IN NORTH AMERICA
Electra Battery Materials Corporation has begun preliminary discussions with the Government of Quebec to build a new cobalt refinery in Bécancour, Quebec, that will integrate with an emerging battery materials park in the province.
“Given a forecast deficit in domestic cobalt sulfate production by 2025, we have received significant interest from industry and government stakeholders to build a second refinery in North America,” said Trent Mell, CEO of Electra Battery
Materials. “The industrial park in Bécancour, Quebec, is quickly becoming an important future hub for EV battery materials in North America given its numerous advantages, including a deep-water port, extensive infrastructure, hydro-electric power, strong support from the Quebec government, and a qualified workforce. In light of the considerable progress Electra has made toward commissioning its first cobalt sulfate refinery north of Toronto, we are a logical partner for the Bécancour industrial park.”
Bécancour is emerging as an important hub for the supply of low-carbon battery materials to the EV supply chain in North
America. The Bécancour industrial park has attracted commitments and investments from global automotive and chemical processing companies to establish facilities to produce precursor cathode active materials (PCAM) and cathode active materials (CAM) essential in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Materials needed for PCAM and CAM production would originate from nickel and cobalt sulfate refineries not yet available in the Bécancour industrial park.
In support of the preliminary discussions the company has undertaken with the Government of Quebec, Electra will undertake a study to determine annual production requirements for the industrial park, capital costs for the refinery, flow sheet modifications for alternate sources of feed material, permitting requirements, synergies from integration with other battery materials companies in Bécancour, and potential funding opportunities from the federal and provincial levels of government.
Electra’s study is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
CIRCULAR LAUNCHES BUY AND SELL DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR RECYCLED PLASTICS
Circular.co has publicly launched a digital platform that introduces a new way to buy and sell sustainable commodities at scale, starting with a focus on recycled plastics. The platform helps industries evolve to a more sustainable future by offering efficient online trading, accessible data, and transparent economics. Circular’s digital infrastructure tools help to simplify supply chain logistics by doing all the sourcing, vetting, matching, contracting, shipping, and billing.
“Circular’s focus is on the big economic and environmental picture behind helping brands and major manufacturers access the materials they need to meet sustainability goals,” says Circular’s founder and CEO, Ian Arthurs. “There is more than enough [recyclable] material out there to meet demand, but the industry has lacked the infrastructure and economic transparency to support greater recovery and circularity.”
“Circular selected recycled plastics to start because of the scale of opportunity and challenge this industry faces,” says Aidan Madigan-Curtis, partner at Eclipse Ventures and board member of Circular. “Over 380 million tons of virgin plastic are produced each year and global recycling rates remain under 91 percent, dropping to under 5 percent recently in the U.S. This results in oceans of waste, microplastics in our bloodstream, and roughly 2 gigatons per year of CO2 pumped into our atmosphere.”
“The plastics industry is essential to the global economy and clearly needs to evolve sustainably as fast as possible,” says Madigan-Curtis. “The digital tools required to help this sustainable evolution already exist in other industries; it’s inevitable they will apply to the plastic industry. Our aim is to expedite the process.”
For the past year, Circular and Eclipse have been conducting research and development and testing the digital platform among buyers and sellers. Circular.co is now prepared to launch and offer real scale for global buyers and sellers.
US COMPOSTING COUNCIL AND BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS INSTITUTE RELEASE COMPOSTABLE PRODUCT GUIDANCE
The US Composting Council (USCC) and the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) have released joint guidance on how best to address compostable products in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs for packaging, part of a new strategic partnership designed to guide the extensive collaboration that exists between the two organizations. Collaboration on principles for EPR and the work of a joint task force have already contributed to the passing of an EPR bill in Colorado that contains provisions specific to composting.
Food is consistently the top material landfilled each year, with the majority of the compost facilities in the U.S. set up to process only yard trimmings. USCC and BPI support a variety of funding mechanisms to help cover the costs of collecting and processing compostable products associated with food scraps, including EPR programs that collect fees from the sales of compostable products.
In their joint guidance document, USCC and BPI lay out specific recommendations for EPR programs that include: specifying how fees should be allocated, defining what products and materials should be included, ensuring representation in Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and advisory councils, exempting compostables from PCR requirements, establishing compatibility with existing food scrap collection goals, and specific eco-modulation guidance.
USCC and BPI have also approved parameters for a formal strategic partnership to build on the considerable collaboration that already exists between the two groups. Shared organizational objectives include: increased diversion of food scrap from landfills to composting facilities, reduced greenhouse gas production, reduced contamination from food scrap feedstocks to composting facilities, and improved soil health through the use of compost. One of the items specifically called out in the agreement is a joint committee to develop a model bill for the labelling and identification of compostable products and packaging.
of-life lithium-ion batteries.
“The demand and production of EVs is growing, the minerals needed for battery production are diminishing and proven difficult for the U.S. to get their hands on – so we developed technology to solve this by reusing what we have,” said Bill Easter, CEO of X-BATT and Semplastics.
X-BATT RECEIVES $200,000 GRANT FOR UPCYCLING SPENT GRAPHITE
X-BATT is developing technology to incorporate recycled or contaminated materials from electric vehicles or consumer electronic lithium-ion batteries into anode composites. This includes graphite and other materials that have reached the end of life or come from production scrap that can be reintegrated back into the supply chain.
The Department of Energy awarded Semplastics, the company behind X-BATT, over $200,000 to develop novel high-capacity composite anodes for the upcycling of spent graphite from end-
AF&PA REPORTS 68 PERCENT PAPER RECYCLING RATE FOR 2021
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has reported that 68 percent of all paper consumed in the United States was recycled in 2021 – a rate on par with the highest rate previously achieved.
Additionally, the recycling rate for old corrugated containers has increased. The rate was 91.4 percent in 2021, up from the 2020 rate of 88.8 percent, and overall, a three-year average of 90.5 percent.
“Our industry is a leader in sustainability and understands what it means to be a responsible producer,” said AF&PA president and CEO Heidi Brock. “We are investing nearly $5 billion in projects from 2019 through 2024 to use approximately 8 million additional tons of recovered fibre. This reflects a longstanding commitment to invest in manufacturing infrastructure using recycled paper and improve the circular nature of our industry.”
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U.S. BEV coursework at Tinley Park is focused on BEV safety training, operation, repair, and sales. Other courses include diesel training such as engine overhaul, transmission design and function, and parts sales and warranty fundamentals.
Mack also operates training facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Toronto, Canada.
MACK ACADEMY OPENS NEW FACILITY TO SUPPORT BATTERYELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNICIAN TRAINING
Mack Trucks has opened a new Mack Academy facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, to better support battery-electric vehicle (BEV) training and to help provide dealers and customers with easier access to training in the central U.S.
The Mack LR Electric refuse model, Mack’s first fully electric
Class 8 vehicle, is now available for order and is supported by dealers and training facilities in various locations across the
CIRCULAR PLASTIC TASKFORCE AND DIGIMARC TO PILOT FLEXIBLE PACKAGING SORTATION PROJECT
The Circular Plastic Taskforce (CPT) has partnered with Digimarc to test Digimarc Recycle for optimizing the sortation of flexible plastic packaging in Canada. This project marks the start of Phase II of the CPT, which aims to carry out or support projects to improve the recycling of all plastic packaging within the evolving Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) landscape in Canada.
With Digimarc Recycle, digital watermarks are applied within the package artwork, and no special inks or print process is required. When scanned by machine cameras, the watermarks connect to a cloud-based database containing characteristics of the package, such as the manufacturer and specific product, prior use (food versus non-food), additives, or the presence of components that are problematic for recycling.
PERFORMANCE DELIVERED
• PERFECT MIX OF PRESSURE (UP TO 4000 PSI) AND SPEED (UP TO 225 HP) • HOPPER SIZED FOR THE LARGEST OF OCC AND TO MINIMIZE OVER FEEDING HIGH GRADES • MANIFOLD BLOCK DESIGNED WITH REPLACEMENT CARTRIDGE VALVES THAT KEEP THE
POWER UNIT COOLER AND QUIETER • OPTIONAL STAMPER - TO MAXIMIZE RUNNING IN AUTOMATIC WITH BULKY GRADES
I NTEGRI T Y I QUAL IT Y I REL I AB IL I T Y I VALUE
