Li-Cycle Partners with Renewance to Expand Services for Energy Storage Market

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Li-Cycle Corp. (“Li-Cycle” or “the Company”), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, today announced a partnership with Renewance, a leading life-cycle battery management company, to deliver a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective lithium-ion battery recycling solution for end-of-life energy storage systems.

The deployment of energy storage systems has significantly progressed in recent years and the U.S. energy storage market is set to grow to nearly 26.5 gigawatt hours annually by 2025 and will account for 50% of the global market this year, according to the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor and IHS Markit. Lithium-ion batteries are the primary technology used to store energy and as systems go offline or are upgraded, it is imperative to sustainably return the end-of-life batteries back into the supply chain. By combining their respective strengths in lithium-ion battery recycling and battery life cycle management software and services, Li-Cycle and Renewance expect to play an important role in helping developers and utilities decommission energy storage systems safely, recovering the valuable materials from within the end-of-life batteries, and returning those materials to the economy.

“This partnership with Renewance is a major breakthrough for us as we make considerable inroads in the energy storage market, which is going through substantial growth and in turn will produce a substantial supply of end-of-life batteries that need to be recycled,” said Kunal Phalpher, Chief Commercial Officer of Li-Cycle. “We will enhance Renewance’s abilities to deliver value through efficiently managing its clients’ batteries through our Spoke facilities, strategically located close to regions with high penetration of energy storage systems.”

Li-Cycle and Renewance have been collaborating on energy storage projects since the beginning of 2020, and the parties believe that, with the formalization of their partnership, they are well positioned to grow the scope and scale of energy storage system lithium-ion batteries requiring recycling continue to grow. Li-Cycle’s recently announced third commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility (or “Spoke”) will be critical in this regard due to its proximity to California, which was an early adopter of energy storage projects and leads the rest of the United States. Li-Cycle’s Spoke facility in Rochester, NY will also be essential in recovering resources from end-of life-lithium-ion batteries from energy storage systems on the U.S. East Coast.

“Renewance and Li-Cycle share the same mission to enable a more sustainable battery energy storage ecosystem,” said Tom Newhall, Chief Operating Officer of Renewance. “We bring a wealth of experience on regulatory considerations to decommissioning and reverse supply chain processes and Li-Cycle brings a strong capability of recovering critical battery materials from lithium-ion batteries in a sustainable and safe manner. We are looking forward to working closely with Li-Cycle on this mutually beneficial partnership.”

On February 16, 2021, Li-Cycle announced its entry into a definitive business combination agreement with Peridot Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PDAC) (“Peridot”). Upon the closing of the business combination, which is expected in the third quarter of 2021, the combined company will be named Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. (“Newco”). Li-Cycle intends to apply to list the common shares of the combined company on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol, “LICY.”

About Li-Cycle

Li-Cycle is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologies™ to provide a customer-centric, end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of critical battery materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics, and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage battery manufacturing waste and end-of-life batteries and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade raw materials through a closed-loop solution. For more information, visit https://li-cycle.com/.

About Renewance

Renewance provides battery life cycle management software and services to some of the world’s largest energy storage companies. Users of the online platform Renewance Connect™ are provided with the most cost effective and environmentally friendly turnkey industrial battery reuse and recycling solutions. Renewance is a winner of the Department of Energy Battery Recycling Prize, focused on improving the reverse supply chain. Renewance has extensive related experience, including such projects as: executing turnkey decommissioning, repurposing and recycling of several large multi-MWh energy storage systems and leading a global battery take back program. Renewance plays a leadership role in driving the creation of reverse supply chain best practices and actively participates in programs such as the ESA Corporate Responsibility Initiative. For more information, visit http://batterystewardship.com/.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

In connection with the proposed business combination involving Li-Cycle and Peridot, Newco has prepared and filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-4 that includes both a prospectus of Newco and a proxy statement of Peridot (the “Proxy Statement/Prospectus”). Once effective, Peridot will mail the Proxy Statement/Prospectus to its shareholders and file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. This communication is not a substitute for any proxy statement, registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus or other documents Peridot or Newco may file with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY PERIDOT OR NEWCO WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by Peridot or Newco through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Investors and securityholders will also be able to obtain free copies of the documents filed by Peridot and/or Newco with the SEC on Peridot’s website at www.peridotspac.com or by emailing [email protected].

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION

Li-Cycle, Peridot, Newco, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction, including a description of their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, are set forth in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Peridot is contained in Peridot’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 26, 2021 and certain of its Current Reports filed on Form 8-K. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Peridot or Newco or a solicitation of any vote or approval. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this communication may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding the proposed transaction involving Li-Cycle and Peridot and the ability to consummate the proposed transaction. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “likely”, “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” and other similar expressions among others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the risk that the conditions to the closing of the proposed transaction are not satisfied, including the failure to timely or at all obtain shareholder approval for the proposed transaction or the failure to timely or at all obtain any required regulatory clearances, including under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act; (ii) uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the proposed transaction and the ability of each of Li-Cycle and Peridot to consummate the proposed transaction; (iii) the possibility that other anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized, and the anticipated tax treatment of the combination; (iv) the occurrence of any event that could give rise to termination of the proposed transaction; (v) the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with the proposed transaction or other settlements or investigations may affect the timing or occurrence of the proposed transaction or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; (vi) changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions; (vii) possible disruptions from the proposed transaction that could harm Li-Cycle’s business; (viii) the ability of Li-Cycle to retain, attract and hire key personnel; (ix) potential adverse reactions or changes to relationships with customers, employees, suppliers or other parties resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (x) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the proposed transaction that could affect Li-Cycle’s financial performance; (xi) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; (xii) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism, outbreak of war or hostilities and any epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak (including COVID-19), as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors; and (xiii) other risk factors as detailed from time to time in Peridot’s reports filed with the SEC, including Peridot’s annual report on Form 10-K, periodic quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, periodic current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the SEC. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Neither Li-Cycle nor Peridot can give any assurance that the conditions to the proposed transaction will be satisfied. Except as required by applicable law, neither Li-Cycle nor Peridot undertakes any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.