Reno, Nevada hydrometallurgical refinery
How Reno — Nevada Hydrometallurgy Refinery turns black mass into battery-grade salts — inputs, process chemistry, outputs and where its feed comes from.
Throughput
45,000 TPA
Process stages
6
Feeder sites nearby
6
Operating since
2019
From black mass to battery-grade salts
- 1
Feed assay & sampling
Incoming black mass is homogenised and assayed by ICP-OES for Li, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Al and fluoride before it is released to leach.
- 2
Sulphuric acid leaching
Two-stage leach at 60–85 °C with peroxide reductant dissolves cathode metals at 96–99% extraction efficiency.
- 3
Impurity removal
Iron, aluminium and copper are precipitated and filtered; graphite is recovered as a separate low-ash cake.
- 4
Solvent extraction trains
Sequential Co, Ni and Mn circuits with counter-current mixer-settlers deliver individual metal raffinates.
- 5
Crystallisation & drying
Nickel and cobalt sulphate hexahydrate plus lithium carbonate are crystallised to 99.5%+ battery grade and bagged under nitrogen.
- 6
Batch certification
Every batch ships with a certificate of analysis, mass balance and chain-of-custody record for EPR and IRA reporting.
Acceptance criteria
| Criterion | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Accepted feed | Black mass, cathode scrap, sealed drums |
| Moisture limit | Agreed per contract, deducted from payable weight |
| Sampling | Homogenised and split, assayed by ICP-OES |
| Documentation | Assay certificate, manifest, waste-shipment consent where required |
Products leaving the plant
| Stream | Product |
|---|---|
| Lithium | Carbonate or hydroxide, battery grade |
| Nickel | Sulphate hexahydrate, battery grade |
| Cobalt | Sulphate heptahydrate, battery grade |
| By-products | Graphite cake, copper and aluminium residues |
Why Reno, Nevada
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, east of Reno, hosts some of the largest battery and cell manufacturing operations in North America alongside major logistics and data-centre developments. The refinery opened there in 2019 so that black mass and cell production scrap could be refined within a short drive of where cells are made, rather than being shipped across the continent or overseas.
At 45,000 TPA it is the network's largest refinery in the Americas. It receives black mass from US and Canadian campuses, scrap from nearby cell plants and material from third-party shredders, and turns it into battery-grade salts for North American cathode and cell supply chains, with batch records that help customers trace where critical minerals were processed. Sampling and assay at intake set the basis for settlement.
Permitting
EPA universal waste rules, DOT hazardous materials regulations and state programmes
The refinery is permitted through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, with conditions on air emissions, water use and hazardous materials. Inbound feed is managed under the applicable US EPA hazardous or universal waste rules, and shipments follow US DOT hazardous materials regulations.
Technical strengths
Next door to cell manufacturing
Scrap from nearby cell production is refined without long transport legs.
Largest Americas refinery
45,000 TPA of capacity anchors the network's North American refining.
Traceable output
Batch records support customers documenting North American processing of critical minerals.
Sites that feed Reno, Nevada
Black mass arrives from these campuses, yards and grading plants.
Reno, Nevada plant: technical questions
Does the refinery accept whole battery packs?
No. Whole packs are received at intake yards and campuses, discharged and shredded; the refinery receives the resulting black mass.
How is black mass priced here?
Against an agreed assay, with payable percentages per metal and deductions for moisture and impurities. Sampling is witnessed or split on request.
Can I send whole EV packs to Reno?
No. Reno refines black mass and scrap. Whole packs should go to a collection, grading or integrated site first.
What does Reno produce?
Battery-grade nickel, cobalt and lithium salts, each batch issued with an analysis certificate.
Damaged or defective packs are handled under a separate quarantine protocol — flag them in the form and the team calls you back the same day.
Have black mass to place?
Share assay, tonnage and location for an indicative payable and an intake slot.