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The demand for critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel continues to grow as industries invest in energy storage, transportation electrification, and advanced manufacturing. While progress has been made in expanding domestic mining and refining capacity, much of the global supply chain for these materials—including key processing steps—remains concentrated outside of North America.

This concentration presents ongoing risks, from geopolitical disruptions to logistics constraints, underscoring the need for more localized, resilient supply systems. Strengthening North America’s ability to recover, refine, and reuse critical minerals is essential—not just for economic growth, but for long-term supply chain security.

Battery Recycling as a Strategic Supply Chain Tool

Battery recycling is emerging as one of the most practical solutions to improve access to critical minerals. As the battery industry scales, so does the volume of scrap generated during manufacturing—materials that didn’t pass quality control or were left over from cell production. This manufacturing scrap, often overlooked, holds high concentrations of valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

A key enabler of this circular opportunity is black mass—a fine, powdered material produced by shredding and processing battery scrap. It contains many of the same critical metals found in end-of-life batteries and mined ores, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium. While it offers a high-quality secondary source for critical mineral recovery, additional processing is often required to meet the purity standards necessary for new battery production.

Recycling black mass not only reduces the burden on traditional mining operations, but it also plays a direct role in strengthening supply chain resilience. By recovering these materials domestically, countries can lower dependence on imported sources, tighten logistics, and ensure more control over strategic inputs.

In this way, battery recycling creates a circular, complementary pathway to new production—one that adds critical redundancy and flexibility to a supply chain facing increasing global and geopolitical pressures.

Building a Made-North America Solution: Electra, Three Fires Group & Aki Battery Recycling

Improving access to critical minerals requires more than increasing supply — it calls for smarter systems rooted in local expertise and strategic collaboration.

At Electra, we’re working to localize the recovery and refining of battery materials, reducing reliance on overseas sources and helping to strengthen North America’s critical minerals supply chain.

As part of this effort, we’ve partnered with Three Fires Group, an Indigenous-led organization focused on long-term economic development and community prosperity. Together, we are advancing solutions that promote responsible material recovery while supporting job creation and local capacity building.

This collaboration led to the formation of Aki Battery Recycling, a joint venture between Electra and Three Fires Group. Aki focuses on the shredding and pre-processing of lithium-ion battery scrap and production waste—transforming it into black mass, a high-value feedstock rich in lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other critical metals.

The black mass produced by Aki will be processed at Electra’s refinery, enabling the recovery of battery-grade materials. This integrated model—from local pre-processing to domestic refining—offers a scalable, circular approach to battery materials, grounded in Indigenous leadership and North American resilience.

Closing the Loop: Turning Potential into Supply

Meeting the rising demand for critical minerals requires more than increased output—it calls for building smarter, regionally rooted systems that can recover and refine materials efficiently.

Through battery scrap recycling and the production of black mass, Electra is helping create a secondary supply stream that complements primary mining. Our partnership with Three Fires Group and the creation of Aki Battery Recycling reflects a practical path forward: one that supports domestic capacity, Indigenous-led development, and greater control over the materials that power modern technologies.

Strengthening North America’s position in the critical minerals supply chain starts with action—and we’re building the infrastructure to support it.