First Cobalt, a cobalt exploration and refining company based in Toronto, has announced an official rebrand and expansion of their Cobalt, ON, plant in an effort to better support the North American supply chain for domestically sourced raw battery materials. With this rebrand, First Cobalt will now operate under the name ‘Electra Battery Materials Corp’, and will expand its industrial park to become the only integrated battery material complex in North America.
Electra Battery Materials Corp. reveals that they will provide battery-grade nickel sulphate and cobalt, as well as recycled lithium-ion battery materials and battery precursor materials to North American automakers, as the EV manufacturing sector continues to grow at a rapid pace.
In the official press statement, Michael Insulan, Electra’s vice-president of commercial, shared his excitement for the company’s rebrand and their plans for the future.
“Electra intends to become the first regional refiner capable of providing these materials in bulk through a modular plant design. To keep up with a rapidly evolving market, we can and must do more for the circular economy and through localized primary feeds, resulting in more jobs and investments in our home market.”
Electra’s cobalt refinery is the only one of it’s kind in North America, and has an initial target to produce at least 60,000 tonnes of nickel-sulphate and 6,500 tonnes of cobalt annually. Eventually, Electra hopes to be able to produce enough battery materials to power more than 1.5 million EVs per year.
