Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. (NYSE: LICY) (“Li-Cycle” or the “Company”), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, was honoured to host the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, yesterday at the Company’s lithium-ion battery recycling facility located in Kingston, Ontario.

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Li-Cycle Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Tim Johnston with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Li-Cycle’s battery recycling facility in Kingston, Ontario. (Photo Credit: Adam Scotti)

During the visit, Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen were joined by Li-Cycle co-founders Ajay Kochhar and Tim Johnston as they toured Li-Cycle’s first commercial Spoke facility and observed lithium-ion batteries being recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The leaders discussed the importance of Li-Cycle’s innovative, proprietary and sustainable Spoke & Hub Technologies™, which support the clean energy transition in both North America and Europe.

“We are excited to have hosted Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen at our Ontario Spoke. As a Canadian company, we were honoured to have the privilege and opportunity to showcase our innovative and sustainable Spoke technology to Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen. Li-Cycle plays an essential role in creating a domestic supply of battery materials in Canada and Europe to help further drive electrification,” said Ajay Kochhar, co-founder and CEO of Li-Cycle.

“As Li-Cycle expands upon its significant first mover advantage in the North American market, we continue to advance our global growth strategy and progress with the deployment of our technologies in Europe. We believe that Prime Minister Trudeau’s and President von der Leyen’s visit further reinforces Li-Cycle’s exceptional value proposition for Canada’s and Europe’s burgeoning battery supply chain, also as we expect to operationalize our largest Spoke facility to-date in Germany later this year,” said Tim Johnston, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Li-Cycle.

“I’m so pleased that Li-Cycle had the opportunity to showcase their local operations to Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen during their visit to Kingston. A global leader in lithium-ion battery recycling – including those used in EVs – Li-Cycle’s expansion in Kingston is an important part of making Canada a clean tech innovator the world over. Since my initial tour of Li-Cycle’s local facility, I’ve been continually impressed by this company’s innovation and growth,” said Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands.

Li-Cycle’s patented and proven commercial Spoke & Hub Technologies enables up to a 95% recycling efficiency rate and returns valuable battery-grade materials found within lithium-ion batteries and battery manufacturing scrap into the supply chain. Additionally, our commitment to sustainability is core to our business of battery recycling and resource recovery, which uses technology to ensure our network of Spoke & Hub operations have an efficient environmental footprint. This includes processes that have minimal solid waste streams to landfill, zero wastewater discharge, and low air emissions.

Li-Cycle’s Spoke Network

Li-Cycle’s Spokes, the first stage of the Company’s vertically-integrated business model, safely recycle battery materials through a proprietary submerged shredding process to produce ‘black mass,’ an intermediate product which contains highly valuable metals, including lithium, nickel and cobalt. Our ‘Generation 3’ Spokes have the capability to directly process full electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage battery packs without any manual dismantling, which enhances safety and cost-effectiveness.

Li-Cycle currently operates four Spokes that can together recycle more than 50,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year. These Spokes, which are located in Kingston, Ontario; Rochester, New York; Gilbert, Arizona; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, establish a footprint in key strategic regions to support the recycling needs of its growing battery supply customer base. Li-Cycle expects to have a total operational processing capacity of more than 80,000 tonnes per year of lithium-ion battery material across its Spoke network in North America and Europe by the end of 2023.

Germany Spoke and European expansion plans

Li-Cycle’s first European Spoke will be located in Germany near the city of Magdeburg and is expected to be the Company’s largest Spoke facility to-date, with a total processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year. The Germany Spoke is expected to have two main lines capable of processing full EV battery packs without dismantling, in addition to ancillary processing capacity, and is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2023.

Li-Cycle’s Germany Spoke is expected to support its growing customer base in Europe and leverage existing infrastructure with access to clean renewable energy and key transportation outlets. Germany represents the largest market for both battery manufacturing scrap and the expected supply of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries in Europe.

Li-Cycle continues to develop its Norway Spoke, which is located in the city of Moss. To further support the clean energy transition, the Norway Spoke is expected to be powered by clean renewable energy, including geothermal heating. The Norway Spoke, which is expected to have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes per year, is expected to be operational in 2024.

Ontario Spoke and Canadian expansion plans

Li-Cycle’s existing facility in Kingston, Ontario is Li-Cycle’s first Spoke and commenced commercial-scale operations in 2020. Li-Cycle is currently progressing with its plans to develop a new Spoke and warehouse facility in Kingston to replace the existing site, with the initial site work expected to commence in 2023. Li-Cycle’s new Ontario Spoke will use the Company’s latest ‘Generation 3’ Spoke technology and is expected to have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, which is double the existing facility’s processing capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year. The new Ontario Spoke will have the capability to process full EV and energy storage packs without any manual disassembly. The new Ontario Spoke is also expected to have research and training facilities.

Rochester Hub

At Li-Cycle’s Hub facilities, the second stage of its vertically integrated process, Li-Cycle will process black mass to produce battery-grade materials. Li-Cycle’s first commercial Hub facility is under construction in Rochester, New York (the “Rochester Hub”) and is expected to initiate commissioning in late 2023.

The Rochester Hub is expected to create the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate in North America and is designed to have a processing capacity of 35,000 tonnes of black mass per year, which is equivalent to approximately 90,000 tonnes or 18 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion batteries. Once fully operational, the Rochester Hub is expected to deliver annual production of 7,500 to 8,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, 42,000 to 48,000 tonnes of battery-grade nickel sulphate, and 6,500 to 7,500 tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, in addition to other valuable materials.

Li-Cycle recently received a conditional commitment for a loan of $375 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program to support the Rochester Hub’s development, providing the Company with financial flexibility to continue executing its global growth plans.

About Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.

Li-Cycle (NYSE: LICY) is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologies™ to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of battery-grade materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage battery manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as “believe”, “may”, “will”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “should”, “would”, “could”, “plan”, “potential”, “future”, “target” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements about the ability of Li-Cycle to help further drive electrification, the ability of Li-Cycle to continue to advance its global growth strategy and progress with the development of its technologies in Europe, the ability of Li-Cycle to offer exceptional value proposition for Canada’s and Europe’s burgeoning battery supply chain, the expectation that Li-Cycle will operationalize its largest Spoke facility to-date in Germany later this year, the expectation that Li-Cycle will have a total operational processing capacity of more than 80,000 tonnes per year of lithium-ion battery materials across its Spoke network in North America and Europe by end of 2023, the expectation that the Germany Spoke will have a total processing capacity of 30,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, the expectation that the Norway Spoke will be powered by clean renewable energy, including geothermal heating, the expectation that the Norway Spoke will have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes per year and that it will be operational in 2024, the plans to develop the new Ontario Spoke, the expectation that the initial site work at the new Ontario Spoke will commence in 2023, the expectation that the new Ontario Spoke will have processing capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion battery material per year, the expectation that the new Ontario Spoke will have research and training facilities, the ability of Li-Cycle to process black mass to produce battery-grade materials at its Hub facilities, the expectation that Rochester Hub will initiate commissioning in late 2023, the expectation that Rochester Hub will create the first source of recycled battery-grade lithium carbonate in North America, the expectation that, once fully operational, Rochester Hub will be able to deliver annual production of 7,500 to 8,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, 42,000 to 48,000 tonnes of battery-grade nickel sulphate, and 6,500 to 7,500 tonnes of battery-grade cobalt sulphate, in addition to other valuable materials, the expectation that the conditional commitment for a loan of up to $375 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program will provide the Company with financial flexibility to continue executing its global growth plans. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, made by Li-Cycle management, including but not limited to assumptions regarding the timing, scope and cost of Li-Cycle projects; the processing capacity and production of Li-Cycle facilities; Li-Cycle’s ability to source feedstock and manage supply chain risk; Li-Cycle’s ability to increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms; Li-Cycle’s ability to obtain $375 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program; Li-Cycle’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners; expected regulatory processes and outcomes in connection with Li-Cycle’s business; general economic conditions; currency exchange and interest rates; compensation costs; and inflation. There can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct and, as a result, actual results or events may differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Li-Cycle and are not guarantees of future performance. Li-Cycle believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: Li-Cycle’s inability to economically and efficiently source, recover and recycle lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap, as well as third party black mass, and to meet the market demand for an environmentally sound, closed-loop solution for manufacturing waste and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries; Li-Cycle’s inability to successfully implement its global growth strategy, on a timely basis or at all; Li-Cycle’s inability to manage future global growth effectively; Li-Cycle’s inability to develop the Rochester Hub and its Spoke network in a timely manner or on budget or that those projects will not meet expectations with respect to their productivity or the specifications of their end products; Li-Cycle’s failure to materially increase recycling capacity and efficiency; Li-Cycle may engage in strategic transactions, including acquisitions, that could disrupt its business, cause dilution to its shareholders, reduce its financial resources, result in incurrence of debt, or prove not to be successful; one or more of Li-Cycle’s current or future facilities becoming inoperative, capacity constrained or if its operations are disrupted; additional funds required to meet Li-Cycle’s capital requirements in the future not being available to Li-Cycle on commercially reasonable terms or at all when it needs them; Li-Cycle expects to incur significant expenses and may not achieve or sustain profitability; problems with the handling of lithium-ion battery cells that result in less usage of lithium-ion batteries or affect Li-Cycle’s operations; Li-Cycle’s inability to maintain and increase feedstock supply commitments as well as securing new customers and off-take agreements; a decline in the adoption rate of EVs, or a decline in the support by governments for “green” energy technologies; decreases in benchmark prices for the metals contained in Li-Cycle’s products; changes in the volume or composition of feedstock materials processed at Li-Cycle’s facilities; the development of an alternative chemical make-up of lithium-ion batteries or battery alternatives; Li-Cycle’s revenues for the Rochester Hub are derived significantly from a single customer; Li-Cycle’s insurance may not cover all liabilities and damages; Li-Cycle’s heavy reliance on the experience and expertise of its management; Li-Cycle’s reliance on third-party consultants for its regulatory compliance; Li-Cycle’s inability to complete its recycling processes as quickly as customers may require; Li-Cycle being subject to the risk of litigation or regulatory proceedings; Li-Cycle’s inability to compete successfully; increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or disagreements with tax authorities; significant variance in Li-Cycle’s operating and financial results from period to period due to fluctuations in its operating costs and other factors; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates which could result in declines in reported sales and net earnings; unfavourable economic conditions, such as consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic; natural disasters, unusually adverse weather, epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, cyber incidents, boycotts and geo-political events; failure to protect or enforce Li-Cycle’s intellectual property; Li-Cycle may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties; Li-Cycle’s failure to effectively remediate the material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting that it has identified or if it fails to develop and maintain a proper and effective internal control over financial reporting.

These and other risks and uncertainties related to Li-Cycle’s business and the assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based are described in greater detail in the sections entitled “Item 3D. Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Key Factors Affecting Li-Cycle’s Performance” and elsewhere in its Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada on February 6, 2023.

Li-Cycle assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Li-Cycle’s assessment as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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As a Canadian company, we were honoured to have the privilege and opportunity to showcase our innovative and sustainable Spoke technology to Prime Minister Trudeau and President von der Leyen.