Sept 30 (Reuters) - Blue Whale Materials said on Tuesday it has started commissioning its Bartlesville, Oklahoma, lithium-ion battery recycling facility and expects to have it fully operational within a year.

The facility is one of several under development in Oklahoma, the rural U.S. state aiming to the epicenter for U.S. critical minerals processing, which Reuters reported earlier this year.

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Privately held Blue Whale's facility will be able to process 14,000 metric tons per year of battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries into roughly 8,000 to 9,000 metric tons per year of black mass, essentially shredded battery parts that can be broken down further into cobalt, nickel and other critical minerals.

The company has separately received a $55 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund an expansion project for the site that aims to boost capacity to 50,000 metric tons per year within four years.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/blue-whale-materials-starts-commissioning-oklahoma-battery-recycling-facility-2025-09-30/