Positive sign for former Li-Cycle Hub: Pike releases $7M in liens

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Pike Construction Services has released mechanic’s liens totaling more than $7 million on the stalled Li-Cycle Rochester Hub, another indication that new owner Glencore is making contractors whole and accelerating plans to revive the project.

Five lien releases were filed on Friday by Pike with the Monroe County Clerk’s Office, including one for just shy of $5.1 million against Li-Cycle North America Hub Inc.

The contractor initially recorded the claims of delinquency in state Supreme Court in Monroe County in late 2023 after financially ailing Li-Cycle halted construction on the project.

The Canadian-based firm cited escalating  costs for the shutdown as the price tag soared from a budgeted $485 million to a figure closer to $900 million.

Li-Cycle has since been plucked out of bankruptcy by Glencore, the Swiss-based global mining and minerals commodity giant. Glencore, through GBR HubCo LLC, owns the Rochester Hub.

“It’s our understanding that Glencore wants to move forward with the project,” said Joseph Morelle Jr., executive director of UNiCON, the association representing the construction industry in Greater Rochester. “A lot of our contractors who were wanting to get paid have been paid.”

Glencore officials told the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) in August that reviving the project on McLaughlin Road in Greece is a priority. So, too, is paying debts amassed by Li-Cycle.

“I understand that we mis-stepped,” Chris Biederman, former Li-Cycle chief technology officer and now chief engineer for Glencore battery recycling, told COMIDA. “We’ve reached out to a lot of our key suppliers. To me, that’s what we have to continue to do. We have to repair the bridges.”

When operational, the facility will recover lithium, nickel and cobalt from spent batteries and return those critical minerals to the supply chain.

A major piece in resumption of the Rochester Hub is finalization of a $475 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. Ajay Kochhar, former Li-Cycle CEO and now the head of battery recycling for Glencore, said at last month’s meeting with COMIDA that approvals are not far away.

While the Trump Administration has adjusted priorities regarding recycling and halted tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, the president has urged the mining of critical minerals within the United States.

The administration has said the U.S. must reduce reliance on foreign countries in order to efficiently increase the production clean-energy alternatives and advanced electronics.

Late last month the DOE unveiled new funding streams meant to expand domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.

A Glencore spokesperson said the company has no comment on the Rochester Hub “at this stage.”

On the other side of the county, the $650 million fairlife facility is on target for a 2026 opening. The irony is that Li-Cycle’s construction pause may have ensured fairlife moved along on schedule.

“In a weird way, it allowed us to catch up on the fairlife project,” Morelle said. “If the two were being built at the same time, we would have had a lot more out-of-town workers.”

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