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Chains",{"filename":568},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/800x800/66d6674fb8/benjamin-roche.png","Benjamin is Benchmark's Editor for Energy Transition Supply Chains, covering both upstream products like critical minerals and downstream products including energy storage systems and electric vehicles. He has previous experience covering trade flows, tariffs and the effects of geopolitics on supply chains.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrochecontent/",{"type":572,"content":573},"doc",[574,602,607,621,631,636,641],{"type":575,"attrs":576,"content":577},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[578,581,591,593,600],{"text":579,"type":580},"Critical metals refining company Nth Cycle has signed a $1.1 billion, 10-year agreement with Trafigura to provide 2,000 tonnes of contained nickel in MHP and 1,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate refined from 12,000 tonnes of ","text",{"text":582,"type":580,"marks":583},"black mass",[584],{"type":585,"attrs":586},"link",{"href":587,"uuid":588,"anchor":49,"target":589,"linktype":590},"/article/china-reduces-import-tariffs-for-recycled-black-mass","b30cf2f8-8f83-40e9-8d1f-5775ac7c0b60","_blank","story",{"text":592,"type":580},". It is the largest multi-metal commercial agreement between a ",{"text":594,"type":580,"marks":595},"recycled feedstock",[596],{"type":585,"attrs":597},{"href":598,"uuid":599,"anchor":49,"target":589,"linktype":590},"/videos/what-are-the-recent-global-trends-for-the-recycling-industry","143d86b7-e6fc-4330-91a9-1219ccb41f56",{"text":601,"type":580}," supplier and refiner of its kind.",{"type":575,"attrs":603,"content":604},{"textAlign":49},[605],{"text":606,"type":580},"Nth Cycle is one of the only refiners in US with black mass refining capability for the production of lithium carbonate and MHP. Its Farfield, Ohio recycling plant has an operational capacity of over 3,000 tonnes per year of black mass, with plans to expand capacity in South Carolina and the Netherlands by installing its systems in existing refining facilities.",{"type":575,"attrs":608,"content":609},{"textAlign":49},[610,612,619],{"text":611,"type":580},"Trafigura is actively seeking products ",{"text":613,"type":580,"marks":614},"produced from recycling",[615],{"type":585,"attrs":616},{"href":617,"uuid":618,"anchor":49,"target":589,"linktype":590},"/videos/panel-discussion-recycling-solutions-to-build-a-circular-battery-economy","4462e2b0-a611-42e6-ba62-678786337156",{"text":620,"type":580},". In November 2025, it signed an offtake agreement with another US-based battery recycler, Ascend Elements, for 15,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate between 2027 and 2031, representing around a third of Ascend Elements’ production during the agreement period.",{"type":622,"attrs":623,"content":625},"heading",{"level":624,"textAlign":49},2,[626],{"text":627,"type":580,"marks":628},"What does it mean for critical minerals supply chains?",[629],{"type":630},"bold",{"type":575,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"text":635,"type":580},"The agreement highlights growing efforts to build domestic supply chains for critical battery materials in the US and Europe as governments and industry seek to reduce dependence on overseas refining capacity. By securing a long-term buyer for metals recovered from recycled battery materials, the deal provides commercial validation for Nth Cycle’s modular refining technology and supports the scaling of recycling-based metal supply.",{"type":575,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639],{"text":640,"type":580},"The announcement also comes amid increasing policy support for domestic critical minerals processing. The US Department of Energy recently announced plans to allocate $500 million in new funding aimed at strengthening the battery materials supply chain, including recycling and refining technologies. The funding is part of broader government efforts to support domestic production of key minerals used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems.",{"type":642,"attrs":643},"blok",{"id":644,"body":645},"cad811ee-a8e4-4bdd-b510-6e9abdd41458",[646],{"id":647,"_uid":648,"type":649,"component":650,"fixed_height":651,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":651,"fixed_height_tablet":651},"28119144","i-847989e3-0656-4113-999e-feddf234555c","visualisation","ContentFlourish","","Critical metals refining company Nth Cycle has signed a $1.1 billion, 10-year agreement with Trafigura to provide 2,000 tonnes of contained nickel in MHP and 1,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate refined from 12,000 tonnes of black mass. It is the largest multi-metal commercial agreement between a recycled feedstock supplier and refiner of its kind.",[654],{"slug":655,"name":656,"content":657},"jessie-xu","Jessie Xu",{"job_title":658,"image":659,"bio":661,"linkedin":662,"markets_covered":663},"Senior Analyst - Recycling",{"filename":660},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/400x400/b507d64652/jessie-xu.jpeg","Jessie is a Senior Analyst on the downstream team covering the global battery recycling market. She also leads research on the Chinese battery recycling market. She works closely on the Battey Recycling Capacity Database and Battery Recycling Forecast. Jessie graduated from the University College London with a MSc degree in Geoscience.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessiexu687/","Battery recycling ","article","Trafigura, Nth Cycle sign $1.1 billion deal for recycled metals",[667,670,672,674],{"slug":668,"name":669},"recycling","Recycling",{"slug":671,"name":150},"nickel",{"slug":673,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":675,"name":676},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":651,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":651,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":679,"meta_data":680},"asset",{},{"id":682,"alt":651,"name":651,"focus":651,"title":651,"source":651,"filename":683,"copyright":651,"fieldtype":679,"meta_data":684,"is_external_url":50},106712663201583,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/x/92015bc417/q3-2025-black-mass-price-review-china-lifts-black-mass-import-restrictions.avif",{},"Critical metals refining company Nth Cycle has signed a $1.1 billion, 10-year agreement with Trafigura to provide 2,000 tonnes of contained nickel in MHP and 1,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate refined from 12,000 tonnes of black mass.","Mar 19, 2026","19th March 2026",[],[],1783958060236]