What the site does
Toronto sits at the heart of Ontario's automotive belt, which runs from Windsor to Oshawa and is being retooled for EV and battery production. The recovery campus opened in Etobicoke in 2021 to process Canadian material close to where it is generated, rather than sending it across the border for grading and shredding. Quebec and Ontario transit agencies are among its larger customers, retiring electric buses in growing numbers.
At 18,000 TPA, the integrated campus grades packs and produces black mass on site. It serves fleets, transit agencies, dealers and manufacturers in Ontario and Quebec, and coordinates with the Detroit plant to balance volumes across the Great Lakes region. Its grading takes account of the degradation patterns seen in batteries that spend long winters in the cold. Damaged packs are handled in isolation.
What arrives at the gate
Feedstock at Toronto, Ontario reflects its catchment and plant type. Every consignment is weighed, photographed and logged against the originating manifest before it enters the process area.
- Dealer and fleet packs from Ontario and Quebec
- Transit and municipal fleet retirements
- Production scrap from Ontario's EV supply chain
- Cross-border overflow from the Detroit region
The process, step by step
The 3 operating lines — automated disassembly, cell grading & second-life build, black mass production — run the sequence below.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Intake inspection | Packs are logged, thermally scanned and quarantined if damaged, defective or water-exposed. |
| Safe discharge | Residual energy is recovered to the site microgrid before any mechanical work begins. |
| Automated disassembly | Robotic cells remove housings, cooling plates and wiring for separate material streams. |
| Grading split | Modules above 75% SOH move to second-life build; everything else is shredded under inert atmosphere. |
| Black mass production | Shredding, drying and multi-stage separation produce a graphite-rich black mass at controlled moisture. |
| Refining handover | Black mass is assayed, sealed and shipped to the assigned hydrometallurgical refinery. |
What sets the site apart
Canadian processing. Keeps Canadian material in the country from intake through to black mass.
Cold-climate experience. Grading reflects degradation patterns seen in cold-weather fleets.
Cross-border balancing. Works with Detroit to share volumes across the Great Lakes region.
Where material goes next
Material that Toronto, Ontario does not finish on site moves to the nearest specialist facility in the network, keeping transport distances and dwell times down.
| Facility | Role | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta — Georgia Grading Centre | Cell Grading & Diagnostics | 1,183 km |
| Gothenburg — Nordic Second-Life Campus | Second-Life BESS Works | 6,109 km |
| Reno — Nevada Hydrometallurgy Refinery | Hydrometallurgical Refinery | 3,360 km |
Field note