Cirba Solutions Lithium-ion and EV Battery Recycling

Cirba Solutions is a North American battery recycling and materials management company with nearly 35 years of experience and six facilities, and it was the first to process lithium-ion batteries at commercial scale in North America. It addresses the need to collect, transport and recycle end-of-life and scrap batteries of all chemistries safely and return critical minerals to the supply chain.

At its Ohio site, proprietary shredding and hydrometallurgical recovery turn lithium-ion batteries into black mass, battery-grade metal sulfates and lithium carbonate for pCAM and CAM production. EV services cover battery identification, evaluation of damaged packs, assessment of second-life opportunities, transport packaging and on-site handling. Customers include automakers, gigafactories, energy storage and data centre operators.

• Lithium-ion processing: shredding and hydrometallurgy produce black mass, metal sulfates and lithium carbonate.
• Cross-chemistry handling: all battery chemistries and formats, from button cells to EV packs.
• EV battery services: identification, damaged pack evaluation and second-life assessment.
• Damaged battery management: specialised packaging and transport for defective and recalled batteries.
• Own logistics fleet: hazmat-certified drivers with coast-to-coast coverage and online scheduling.
• EPR programmes: compliance support for producers under extended producer responsibility rules.

Vietnamese battery and EV makers with US operations or customers can use Cirba for take-back and recycling there. Local recyclers can benchmark safe handling and hydrometallurgical processes. Data centre and storage operators can plan end-of-life programmes for lithium-ion backup systems.

The company reports a 95 percent recovery rate for lithium-ion processing. Customers get end-to-end service from packaging and hazmat transport with its own certified fleet to processing and material recovery. Its recovered materials have been proven in new EV cells: in 2026 GM built batteries with cathode material made from 100 percent recycled nickel, cobalt and manganese from Cirba black mass.

Automakers are moving to closed-loop battery supply in which recycled nickel, cobalt and manganese return to new cells, and EPR rules are spreading to batteries. Vietnamese EV and electronics exporters supplying US customers face growing requirements for recycled content and documented end-of-life handling, which creates interest in proven recycling partners and processes.

Nearly 35 years of experience with six facilities in North America. CEO David Klanecky led a capital raise of almost USD 300 million and three US Department of Energy grants totalling more than USD 282 million. Completed a closed-loop recycling pilot with General Motors and Ultium Cells in September 2026.