2022 Canadians to Watch

CHOSEN BECAUSE:

Despite having more than 300 staff, partnerships with the likes of General Motors and LG Energy Solution, and operations running or being developed in Canada, the United States, Germany and Norway, Li-Cycle Holdings is “just getting started,” Ajay Kochhar said.

The Toronto-based company has set its sights on becoming the world leader in lithium-ion battery recycling as well as the go-to supplier of sustainable materials for electric vehicle batteries. Kochhar, 30, said to keep pace with the rapid growth in the EV market, the recycler must scale up equally quickly as it branches out beyond its Canadian roots.

“In 2030, we expect there to be roughly three million tonnes, give or take, of lithium-ion battery materials requiring recycling. Today, we’re at 20,000 tonnes of capacity.”

To meet the challenge and become an integral part of the circular EV battery supply chain, Kochhar and his team have spent six years improving and piloting Li-Cycle’s technology. The company has several commercial-scale battery shredding sites in operation and construction is under way on its plant to isolate key battery materials for reuse.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:

“We’re working agnostically across the supply chain, call it being the Switzerland of battery recycling.”