SP Member News Roundup – October 2022

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 from September 1 through October 31, 2022 highlighting efforts of SP member companies and partners to advance initiatives with positive environmental impact.

• American Battery Technology Company Announces Completion of Phase 2 Lithium-Bearing Exploration Drilling Program. American Battery Technology Company has completed its Phase 2 drill program, consisting of six additional sites in addition to the 16-holes sampled in its Phase 1 program, completing the exploration program in its permitted 22-hole plan at its 10,340 acre Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Big Smoky Valley, Nevada.  Learn more.
• New Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Facility to Produce Critical Materials for North American Battery Supply Chain. Heritage Battery Recycling, an affiliate of Cirba Solutions, announced plans to construct a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Eloy, Arizona. Learn more.
• Cirba Solutions Expands Ohio-based Lithium-Ion Processing Facility to Increase Critical Materials for Battery Supply Chain in North America.  Cirba Solutions announces the expansion of its lithium-ion processing facility in Lancaster, Ohio with an investment of more than $200 million.  Cirba Solutions estimates it will produce enough battery-grade raw materials from recycled batteries to power more than 200,000 new EVs annually from this facility alone. Learn more.
• Cox Automotive Mobility Commits to Cutting Fleet Carbon Emissions in Half by 2030. To do its part to preserve the planet, Cox Automotive Mobility pledged to make at least 50% of its fleet zero carbon emissions by 2030. Learn more.
• Cox Automotive Mobility and Spiers New Technologies Expand Global EV Battery Service Network. Cox Automotive Mobility and Spiers New Technologies announced the expansion of its global EV battery service center network with new facilities in Belleville, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, and Las Vegas. Cox Automotive Mobility in collaboration with Spiers New Technologies also operates end-to-end EV battery service centers in Oklahoma City, Okla., and Ede, Netherlands. Learn more.
• Everledger Launches Battery Passport Pilot with Ford. Digital transparency company Everledger announced the launch of a battery passport pilot with leading automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company (Ford) to ensure responsible recycling of EV batteries. The pilot leverages Everledger’s technology platform to track electric vehicle (EV) batteries throughout their lifecycle to ensure responsible management during use and recycling at the end of their useful life. Learn more.
• GM Secures All Energy Needed to Achieve Renewable Energy Goal 25 Years Ahead of Initial Target. General Motors announced the finalization of energy sourcing agreements required to secure 100% of the energy needed to power all its U.S. facilities by 2025. This is in line with the accelerated target announced in September 2021, which is 5 years ahead of the 2030 target announced in early 2021 and 25 years ahead of the initial target of 2050, set in 2016. Learn more.
• GM Advances Equitable Climate Action through New Collaborative with National Wildlife Federation. General Motors announced that it has joined the National Wildlife Federation as a founding member of the new Climate Equity Collaborative, an initiative focused on addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and youth. Learn more.
• General Motors’ New Energy Ecosystem. General Motors announced the introduction of Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, which in combination with the existing Ultium Charge 360, create a holistic ecosystem of energy management products and services that will be housed under a new business unit called GM Energy. Learn more.
• MycoWorks Secures Strategic Investment from GM Ventures. Biotechnology company MycoWorks announced its newest investor GM Ventures, the investment arm of General Motors Co., and their long-term agreement to co-develop Fine Mycelium™ materials for potential use in a range of applications within automotive design. Learn more.
• Honda and LG Energy Solution Announce Ohio as Home to Joint Venture EV Battery Plant. Honda and LG Energy Solution announced that their new joint venture (JV) battery plant will be located in Fayette County, Ohio, about 40 miles southwest of Columbus, where the two companies will commit to investing $3.5 billion and creating 2,200 jobs, pending final government approvals. The companies’ overall investment related to the JV is projected to reach $4.4 billion. Learn more.
• Lear Launches ReNewKnit™ Sueded Material. Lear announced the company’s premium and fully recyclable ReNewKnit™ sueded material will launch in seating and door panel applications with a global automaker in 2024. ReNewKnit™ is a Lear exclusive, first-to-market automotive textile that is fully recyclable at its end of life. Manufactured solely with recycled materials at Lear facilities using 100% renewable electricity. Learn more.
• Lear Wins 2022 Automotive News PACEpilot Award. Lear Corporation announced its ConfigurE+ with zonal safety technology was named an Automotive News PACEpilot Innovation to Watch. The safety solution is the first wireless and electronics-based system that identifies seat location and seat status – key to the adoption of reconfigurable seating in vehicles. Learn more.
• GM and Lithion Announce an Investment and Strategic Partnership Agreement to Pursue a Circular EV Battery Ecosystem. Lithion Recycling Inc. and General Motors Co. announced that GM Ventures, the automaker’s investment arm, has made a strategic investment in Lithion’s Series A financing round, supporting a new GM-Lithion strategic partnership agreement to pursue a circular battery ecosystem using Lithion’s advanced battery recycling technology. Learn more.
• Magna Wins 2022 Automotive News PACE Award, Received PACEpilot Recognition. Magna was named a 2022 Automotive News PACE Award winner at the awards ceremony on September 19th. The renowned award recognizes automotive suppliers for superior innovation, technological advancement, and business performance. Counting the 2022 award, the company has won six PACE Awards in the last eight years. Learn more.
• Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) and Traxys North America Enter MOA to Strengthen Battery Sustainability. Princeton NuEnergy Inc. (PNE) announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Traxys North America LLC. Under the MOA, Traxys will actively support PNE in its mission to deliver cost-effective, sustainable LIB recycling solutions. Learn more.
• Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) and Wistron GreenTech Announce Grand Opening of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Pilot Line in McKinney, Texas. Princeton NuEnergy Inc. (PNE) announced the grand opening of its Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB) Direct Recycling 500-ton pilot production line with Wistron GreenTech, a subsidiary of Wistron Corporation, in McKinney, Texas. Learn more.
• Stellantis Fosters Circular Economy Ambitions with Dedicated Business Unit to Power New Era of Sustainable Manufacturing and Consumption. Stellantis N.V. announced a comprehensive plan for its Circular Economy Business Unit to achieve more than €2 billion in revenues by 2030 and drive the Company’s aggressive decarbonization target of reaching carbon net zero by 2038. Learn more.
• Stellantis Signs Non-Binding MOU with GME for Future Offtake of Battery Grade Nickel and Cobalt Sulphate. Stellantis N.V. and GME Resources Limited announced the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) for the future sale of quantities of battery grade nickel and cobalt sulphate products from the NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project in Western Australia. Learn more.
• Toyota’s Eastern Canada Parts Distribution Centre is Now Solar-Powered. Toyota Canada’s Eastern Canada Parts Distribution Centre (ECPDC) has officially switched on a 965 kW DC / 759 kW AC rooftop solar system that will generate 1145 MWh annually, providing all the electrical needs of the building and carbon offsets needed on-site. Learn more.
• Toyota Invests $1 Million to Enhance Workforce Readiness in North Carolina. Toyota is boosting workforce readiness and exposure to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) education in the North Carolina Triad with donations totaling $1 million to expand education opportunities for students. Learn more.
• WM to Acquire Controlling Interest in Avangard Innovative’s U.S. Business. WM announced that it has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Avangard Innovative’s U.S. business, which will operate as Natura PCR – an independent company expected to scale and grow recycling capacity to produce an estimated 400 million pounds per year of post-consumer resin (PCR) in five years. Learn more.
• WM 2022 Sustainability Report. WM has released its 2022 Sustainability Report highlighting its progress toward goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, recycling, and other key topics. Learn more.
• Biden-Harris Administration Awards $2.8 Billion to Supercharge U.S. Manufacturing of Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Electric Grid. Congratulations to each of the projects announced for funding by the US DOE to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries and battery materials for electric vehicles, including projects from Suppliers Partnership member companies such as 6K, American Battery Technology Company, Cirba Solutions, and ICL Group. Learn more.
• The benefits of a better pack mentality. As members of the Supplier Partnership for the Environment association, carmaker GM and parts supplier Magna International have been helping to push forward a more sustainable and cost-effective use of packaging for parts shipments. Learn more.
• SP Publishes New Water Stewardship Guide, in Collaboration with The Water Council. The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) announced the publication of a new guidance document, the “Water Stewardship Action Matrix”. Learn more.
• SP Announces 2022 Environmental Sustainability Award Winners. The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) announced the winners of its 2022 environmental leadership awards at its fourth quarter membership meeting in Lexington, Kentucky. Representatives from Henkel, Lavergne, Magna International, and Solvay were recognized for environmental leadership. 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.