SP Member News Roundup – May 2023

SP provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers, their large and small suppliers, the US EPA and other government entities from around the world to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact.

This monthly series collects recent news and updates through May 2023 highlighting efforts of SP member companies and partners to advance initiatives with positive environmental impact.

• AAM Publishes 2022 Sustainability Report Highlighting Achievements, Awards and Future Goals, American Axle & Manufacturing has published its 2022 Sustainability Report that features progress the company has made toward its environmental, social and governance goals. The report also highlights recognition awarded to its people, products and systems technology. Learn More.
• Arkema raises its decarbonization targets and obtains SBTi validation for its 1.5°c trajectory by 2030, Arkema, which had already strengthened its climate plan in July 2022, is setting new, even more ambitious targets by 2030 across its whole value chain, approved by the organization Science Based Targets initiative. The Group now aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 48.5% for Scopes 1+2 and by 54% for Scope 3 by 2030 versus 2019. Learn More.
• Blue Whale Materials Acquires Eclipse Energy, Announces New Subsidiary to Expand Battery Testing and Evaluation Business, Blue Whale Materials announced that it has acquired Eclipse Energy, a Greenfield, IN-based battery testing and evaluation lab. The acquisition will enable Blue Whale Materials to expand its testing offerings to cover the entire life cycle of batteries, from initial testing to end-of-life evaluation for remanufacturing or reuse in secondary applications. Learn More.
• KPMG and Circulor announce alliance to meet growing demand for digital battery passports, KPMG and Circulor announced a new alliance to offer a complete package that enables customers to trace, monitor and control critical raw materials throughout their battery and other industrial value chains, from extraction to the end of a product’s “first life” and beyond. Learn More.
• Cirba Solutions & Volta Energy Technologies Collaborating to Advance Strategic Focus in the Battery Materials Space, Cirba Solutions, announced that it has agreed to partner with Volta Energy Technologies, LLC. Learn More.
• KPA & Cirba Solutions Partner to Drive Safe Handling and Shipping of Electric Vehicle Batteries Among Dealerships, KPA and Cirba Solutions announced a partnership to help personnel at numerous automotive dealership brands manage the safe servicing, handling, and shipping of electric vehicle batteries. Learn More.
• DENSO Demonstrates New Energy Management System Using a Highly-Efficient SOFC at Nishio Plant, DENSO Corporation announced that it launched on May 15 a pilot program to test a new energy management system at its Nishio Plant in Japan as part of efforts to eliminate CO2 emissions from the facility. Learn More.
• Ecobat: Powering the Future Sustainably, Ecobat is proud to launch its first global Sustainability Report based on 2021 and 2022 data. Its goal is to set the stage for future metric disclosures. Learn More.
• Albemarle Establishes Strategic Agreement Ford Motor Company, Albemarle Corporation announced a definitive agreement with Ford Motor Company to deliver battery-grade lithium hydroxide to support the automaker’s ability to scale electric vehicle production. Learn More.
• Ford and Nemaska Lithium enter long-term lithium hydroxide supply agreement, Ford Motor Company has entered into a long-term agreement with Nemaska Lithium for the supply of lithium products, including lithium hydroxide, over an 11-year period. The agreement calls for the delivery of up to 13,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year. Learn More.
• FigBytes Receives GRI Certification, FigBytes announced it has been awarded certification from the Global Reporting Initiative. Now FigBytes customers can advance their ESG and sustainability programs with greater efficiency, generating reports aligned with the GRI Standards, directly from the FigBytes platform. Learn More.
• General Motors Announces $3 Million in Grants to Nonprofits, General Motors announced charitable investments in the communities surrounding its U.S. manufacturing facilities, providing grants to 157 nonprofit organizations totaling $3 million. Learn More.
• Glencore publishes 2022 Sustainability Report, Glencore plc published its 2022 Sustainability Report, which is available on its website. Learn More.
• Goodyear Launches Tire With Monolith’s Carbon Black, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced it will use Monolith’s carbon black in a new tread formulation for its ultra-high performance, all-season ElectricDrive™ GT passenger tire in size 235/40R19. Monolith and Goodyear are taking the next step on the journey toward zero-emissions carbon black in tire manufacturing. Learn More.
• Hydro and Glencore to become partners to further develop Alunorte, Hydro has signed an agreement with Glencore, who will acquire 30 percent of the Brazilian alumina refinery Hydro Alunorte and Hydro’s 5 percent ownership in the Brazilian bauxite producer Mineracão Rio do Norte. Learn More.
• Li-Cycle and Shift2 Partner to Donate Laptops to High School Students in Rochester, New York, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. and Shift2, a non-profit organization providing access to technology for equity-deserving individuals, are pleased to announce the donation of laptops to 60 senior students at Edison Career and Technology High School in Rochester, New York. Learn More.
• L&L Products Achieves Gold Rating for Sustainability for Third Year in a Row, L&L Products has been awarded a GOLD medal by EcoVadis for the third year in a row in recognition of its ongoing commitment to sustainability across the globe. Learn More.
• Lear signs agreement for CO2-reduced steel, As Lear accelerates its journey toward a carbon neutral future, it is reaching deep into its supply chain to help its company and customers meet their respective climate change goals. Lear is partnering with Klöckner & Co. and its subsidiary, Becker Stahl-Service GmbH, to provide CO²-reduced steel. Learn More.
• Li-Cycle and Glencore unveil plans for recycling hub in Italy, Battery recycler Li-Cycle Holdings Corp plans to develop a recycling hub in Italy along with Swiss miner and commodity trader Glencore Plc to produce battery materials including lithium. Learn More.
• Lithion Recycling advances the construction of its first commercial plant and becomes Lithion Technologies, Lithion Recycling, now Lithion Technologies, is proud to announce the construction of its first commercial critical mineral extraction plant in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, near Montreal, in Canada. Learn More.
• Recycled Battery Materials Achieve Performance Comparable to New, Princeton NuEnergy Inc. announced results from pouch cell tests conducted by Argonne National Laboratory which show excellent discharge capacity retention using cathode material directly recycled via PNE’s unique low-temperature plasma technology. Learn More.
• PureCycle Receives Certification Confirming Mechanical Completion, PureCycle Technologies, Inc. announced its first polypropylene purification plant in Ironton, Ohio received formal certification of mechanical completion from the site’s independent construction monitor. Learn More.
• American Resources Corporation’s ReElement Technologies Signs Lithium Offtake and Partnership Agreements with American Lithium Energy Corporation, American Resources Corporation’s subsidiary, ReElement Technologies LLC announced that it has signed a partnership with American Lithium Energy Corporation to enhance the current supply chain for lithium-ion batteries to the energy storage industry by supplying battery-grade materials, investing in and co-locating advanced refining capacity with ALE’s battery manufacturing. Learn More.
• Vulcan and Stellantis in Joint Project to Develop Geothermal Renewable Energy to Supply Mulhouse Plant in France, Stellantis N.V. and Vulcan Energy Resources Limited have signed a binding term sheet for the first phase of a multiphase project to develop new geothermal projects aimed at decarbonizing the energy mix of Stellantis’ Mulhouse industrial site in France. Learn More.
• Stellantis Invests in Lyten’s Breakthrough Lithium-Sulfur EV Battery Technology, Stellantis N.V. and Lyten, Inc. announced that Stellantis Ventures, invested in Lyten to accelerate the commercialization of Lyten 3D Graphene™ applications for the mobility industry, including the LytCell™ Lithium-Sulfur EV battery, lightweighting composites, and novel on-board sensing. Lyten, a pioneer of three- dimensional (3D) Graphene, will leverage the unique tunability of the material to enable enhanced vehicle performance and customer experience while decarbonizing the transportation sector. Learn More.
• Stellantis to Acquire Equal Stake with Faurecia and Michelin in Symbio, a Leader in Zero-emission Hydrogen Mobility, Faurecia, a company of the FORVIA group, Michelin and Stellantis announced the signing of a binding agreement for Stellantis to acquire 33.3% stake in Symbio, a leader in zero-emission hydrogen mobility. Learn More.
• Reclaimed Kentucky Coal Mine Sees the Sun Shining on New Solar Power Purchase Agreement with Toyota, The sun will power more of Toyota Motor North America Inc.’s operations thanks to a new power purchase agreement with Savion. Toyota announced that it has agreed to offtake 100-megawatts of the electricity generated as part of renewable energy company Savion’s Martin County Solar Project through a virtual power purchase agreement. Learn More.
• Tetra Tech Releases Our 2023 Sustainability Report Highlighting Progress Towards Our 2030 Goals, Tetra Tech’s 2023 Sustainability Report shares its progress to improve the lives of 1 billion people by 2030, reporting a total of 545 million lives improved around the world to date. Learn More.
• Call2Recycle Welcomes VMX International into EV Battery Management Network, Call2Recycle, Inc., announced they have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with VMX International, a minority and women-owned environmental services company. The partnership is the latest development of Call2Recycle’s expanding program to meet the increasing demands of electrification and Electric Vehicle adoption. Learn More.
• Henry Ford Health, 7-Eleven, Over a Dozen Others Make Commitments through Consumers Energy’s Business Renewable Energy Program, Consumers Energy is announcing 16 businesses will use clean energy to power their Michigan operations, including SP members DENSO, GM and Magna. Businesses joining the Business Renewable Energy Program agree to match energy they use with wind and solar energy Consumers Energy develops in Michigan. Learn More.

SP members may send their environmental sustainability news to info@supplierspartnership.org for consideration in future news roundups. And, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest SP news and updates.