Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
ROCHESTER, NY - Today, the Department of Energy announced it will lend $375 million to the battery recycling company Li-Cycle to build a lithium battery resource recovery facility in Rochester, ensuring the recycling of lithium batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
In response to today’s announcement, Sierra Club Senior Organizing Representative Jessica Enzmann released the following statement:
“We are pleased to see federal investment in this battery recycling facility, which will help New York and the country accelerate the EV transition while reducing the need for new mining for critical minerals like lithium. Decarbonizing transportation at the rate needed to mitigate the climate crisis is going to take us pulling many levers, including shifting away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles toward electric vehicles. We must meet the demand for critical minerals for EVs in the most sustainable way possible by recycling, reusing, and extending the life of materials we already have. At the same time, it’s imperative that we invest in public transportation and make communities safer for pedestrians and bikers to ultimately reduce the number of cars on the road.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.