Reno area gets world's 1st electro-chemical lead battery recycling plant, 70 new jobs

A new company will be getting the lead out literally in Reno after breaking ground on a new facility.

Oakland-based AquaMetals broke ground Friday on a new $29.6 million facility for recycling lead batteries at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. The facility, which will be finished in April next year, plans to hire 70 new employees. Initial production is planned for May and the plant is projected to run at full capacity by October.

The plant will be the world's first commercial-scale electro-chemical lead battery recycling plant, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA is providing the company with a 90 percent loan guarantee for $10 million, which AquaMetals used for funding its land purchase for the facility as well as construction. Total cost is $42.4 million.

The USDA cited AquaMetals' "disruptive technology" as part of the reason for its support of the project.

"It will not use smelters," said Kelly Clark, spokeswoman for USDA Rural Development. "(AquaMetals) is using a new water-based process to remove an estimated 80 tons of lead each day."

The technology, which AquaMetals calls "AquaRefining," is more cost-efficient than smelting and produces a higher yield while eliminating toxic waste, the company said. The process also results in lead with higher purity, said Stephen Clarke, CEO of AquaMetals. The company estimates that 96 percent of rechargeable batteries made today are lead acid batteries.

"High purity lead is becoming scarce and is essential for the production of more advanced lead acid batteries," Clarke said.

AquaMetals arrival continues to build on a string of expansions and moves by companies to Nevada, which include high profile projects such as Tesla Motors' $5 billion gigafactory and Switch's $1 billion SUPERNAP colocation data center. The company also fits in perfectly with Northern Nevada's goal to beef up its technology sector, said Mike Kazmierski, president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

"A green company that is adding quality jobs and helping to clean up the environment is a great fit for our community," Kazmierski said "It is exciting to see that AquaMetals is using revolutionary technology to reprocess these lead acid batteries and further identifies our region as an attractive place for innovative companies like this."