Blue Whale Materials’ core technology recycles lithium-ion batteries through a proprietary process that discharges spent cells and converts them into high-concentration Blacksand™, recovering up to 98% of cobalt and nickel while minimizing contaminants. Their Greenfield, Indiana testing facility evaluates various battery chemistries via performance, abuse, and end-of-life assessments to optimize resource recovery and reuse. A flagship processing plant in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, set to begin operations in 2025, will process 50,000 tons of feedstock annually—enough to power over 100,000 electric vehicles.
Blacksand™ is a premium recycled battery mineral concentrate containing essential elements—cobalt, nickel, and lithium—produced via advanced processing for high-purity resource supply.
In 2024, Blue Whale Materials secured a $55 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its Bartlesville facility, creating 150 permanent and 180 construction jobs with $3 million for workforce development. Also in 2024, it partnered with the National Forest Foundation Sapling Program to plant one tree per metric ton of batteries recycled, targeting 14,000 trees annually.
In 2022, Ara Partners invested $80M and formed a strategic partnership with Alus via a Letter of Intent to boost production and enter the United States battery materials market.
