Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day. My name is Katie, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the third quarter 2022 Li-Cycle Holdings Earnings Call and Webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question at that time, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you should need operator assistance, please press star 0, thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Nahla Azmy, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

再會。我叫凱蒂，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 2022 年第三季 Li-Cycle Holdings 財報電話會議和網路廣播。所有線路均已靜音，以防止任何背景噪音。發言人發言後，將進行問答環節。如果您當時想要提問，請按電話鍵盤上的星號 1。如果您需要接線生協助，請按星號 0，謝謝。現在我想將電話轉給投資者關係主管 Nahla Azmy。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today for Li-Cycle's review of our third quarter 2022 results ended July 31. We will start today with formal remarks from Ajay Kochhar, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer; Tim Johnston, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman; and Debbie Simpson, Chief Financial Officer. We will then follow with a Q&A session. Ahead of this call, Li-Cycle issued a press release and a presentation, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.li-cycle.com.

早安，感謝大家今天參加 Li-Cycle 對截至 7 月 31 日的 2022 年第三季業績的回顧。今天我們將以聯合創始人、總裁兼首席執行官 Ajay Kochhar 的正式講話開始；蒂姆·約翰斯頓（Tim Johnston），聯合創始人兼執行主席；以及首席財務官黛比·辛普森 (Debbie Simpson)。接下來我們將進入問答環節。在本次電話會議之前，Li-Cycle 發布了一份新聞稿和一份演示文稿，可以在我們網站 investors.li-cycle.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

On this call, management will be making statements based on current expectations, plans, estimates and assumptions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from our forward-looking statements if any of our key assumptions are incorrect, including because of factors discussed in today's press release, during this conference call and in our past reports and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada. These documents can be found on our website at investors.li-cycle.com. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, made during this call or from time to time to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as required. With that, I'm pleased to turn the call to Debbie.

在本次電話會議上，管理層將根據當前的預期、計劃、估計和假設做出聲明，這些聲明受重大風險和不確定性的影響。如果我們的任何關鍵假設不正確，包括今天的新聞稿、本次電話會議以及我們過去向美國證券交易委員會和加拿大安大略證券委員會提交的報告和文件中討論的因素，實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。這些文件可以在我們的網站 investors.li-cycle.com 上找到。除非另有要求，我們不承擔更新在本次電話會議中或不時做出的任何前瞻性陳述（無論是書面還是口頭的）以反映新資訊、未來事件或其他情況的義務。說完這些，我很高興將電話轉給黛比。

Thank you, Nahla, and good morning, everyone. As we will discuss on today's call, we are very excited by the opportunities that we see in front of us. I remain laser focused on the execution and roll-out of our integrated Spoke and Hub network. We continue to make meaningful strides in positioning Li-Cycle as the long-term preferred recycling partner and supplier of lithium ion batter materials, particularly in North America and Europe, with strong commercial connectivity into Asia. Starting with a few near-term updates, we are pleased to report that our Rochester Hub project remains on schedule. Our European Spoke projects continue to advance, and our new spokes in Arizona and Alabama are benefiting from our recent optimization projects. With regards to our mid- to long-term strategic focus, we are capitalizing on strong secular market and government policy momentum for localizing supply of critical battery materials.

謝謝你，納拉，大家早安。正如我們在今天的電話會議上討論的那樣，我們對眼前的機會感到非常興奮。我仍然專注於我們整合的 Spoke 和 Hub 網路的執行和推出。我們繼續朝著將 Li-Cycle 定位為長期首選的回收合作夥伴和鋰離子電池材料供應商的目標邁進，尤其是在北美和歐洲，並與亞洲建立了強大的商業聯繫。從一些近期的更新開始，我們很高興地報告，我們的羅徹斯特樞紐項目仍在按計劃進行。我們的歐洲輻條計畫繼續推進，我們在亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州的新輻條也受益於我們最近的優化項目。就我們的中長期策略重點而言，我們正在利用強勁的長期市場和政府政策勢頭來實現關鍵電池材料的在地化供應。

We maintained our first mover advantage in battery recycling in North America and Europe, which is underpinned by commercial contracts and strategic partnerships with the Worcester Hub as a key future value driver. And we are sufficiently funded to complete our current project pipeline with potential for debt financing from both the traditional and government sources in support of future growth.

我們在北美和歐洲的電池回收領域保持了先發優勢，而與伍斯特中心的商業合約和策略合作夥伴關係是未來價值的關鍵驅動力。我們擁有充足的資金來完成目前的項目，並有可能從傳統和政府管道獲得債務融資，以支持未來的成長。

Beginning on Slide 3 with quarter highlights, which Ajay, Tim and I will cover in more detail later. On the financial front, we ended the quarter with approximately $650 million cash on hand, including $250 million in investment proceeds from LG and Glencore, providing sufficient liquidity for our current project pipeline. On the commercial front, our expertise in logistics, handling and processing know-how have allowed us to expand their sources of battery materials from diverse customers across the supply chain, including battery manufacturers and OEMs. 2 recent examples: Li-Cycle was selected for one of the largest energy storage decommissioning projects in North America. We completed a 2-phase decommissioning project in July, which amounted to more than 1,400 metric tons of battery materials, which started back up to renewable energy. Also, an emerging electric vehicle OEM with a manufacturing facility in North America, named Li-Cycle as it's selected global lithium ion battery recycler.

從幻燈片 3 開始展示本季的亮點，稍後 Ajay、Tim 和我將會更詳細地介紹。在財務方面，本季末我們手頭上有大約 6.5 億美元現金，其中包括來自 LG 和 Glencore 的 2.5 億美元投資收益，為我們目前的專案儲備提供了充足的流動性。在商業方面，我們在物流、處理和加工方面的專業知識使我們能夠從整個供應鏈中的不同客戶（包括電池製造商和原始設備製造商）擴大電池材料來源。最近的兩個例子：Li-Cycle 被選為北美最大的儲能退役計畫之一。我們在7月完成了兩期退役項目，退役電池材料總計超過1,400公噸，重新開始轉化為再生能源。此外，一家在北美設有製造工廠的新興電動車 OEM 廠商將 Li-Cycle 指定為其選定的全球鋰離子電池回收商。

On an operational level, we completed optimization projects at our Arizona Spoke, and our August and September run rates are now tracking to target throughput, with the Alabama folk expected to start operations by the end of the fourth quarter. Our Rochester Hub remains on track to commence commissioning in stages in calendar 2023.

在營運層面，我們在亞利桑那州的 Spoke 完成了優化項目，我們 8 月和 9 月的運行率現在正追蹤目標吞吐量，阿拉巴馬州的人們預計將在第四季末開始營運。我們的羅徹斯特樞紐仍按計劃於 2023 年開始分階段調試。

Now, I'll provide a more detailed discussion of our financial results, specifically regarding black mass production, revenues, adjusted EBITDA and cash flow. Beginning on Slide 4 for Black mass production. We continue to generate higher product sales volume with the startup of our new Arizona Spoke. Black mass production during the quarter of 961 tons was more than 80% higher than the same quarter last year, and up more than 30% from the second quarter, driven primarily by the start-up of the Arizona Spoke. While our third quarter volumes reflect favorable progress relative to our first half run rate, Black mass production was more in our original target as we took some temporary downtime at our Arizona spoke to complete optimization projects. In addition, we intentionally paced the startup of our Alabama spoke to implement the same process improvement. Again will discuss this in more detail.

現在，我將更詳細地討論我們的財務業績，特別是黑色大規模生產、收入、調整後的 EBITDA 和現金流。從投影片 4 開始進行黑色大規模生產。隨著新款 Arizona Spoke 的推出，我們的產品銷售量持續保持成長。本季黑色金屬產量為 961 噸，比去年同期成長 80% 以上，比第二季成長 30% 以上，主要原因是亞利桑那輻條廠的啟動。雖然我們第三季的產量相對於上半年的運行率而言取得了良好的進展，但由於我們在亞利桑那州的工廠暫時停工以完成優化項目，黑色批量生產更符合我們最初的目標。此外，我們特意加快了阿拉巴馬州的啟動步伐，以實施相同的流程改善。再次將更詳細地討論這一點。

As a result of these actions, we are behind our original production targets by approximately 1 to 2 quarters. We are updating our full 2022 black mass production guidance from a spacial range of 6,500 to 7,500 tonnes. We are pleased to report that since successfully completing the optimization projects in Arizona, our August and September run rates are now tracking near target throughput.

由於採取了這些措施，我們的生產目標比原定目標落後了約 1 到 2 個季度。我們正在更新 2022 年黑色大規模生產指導，空間範圍從 6,500 噸增加到 7,500 噸。我們很高興地報告，自從成功完成亞利桑那州的優化專案以來，我們八月和九月的運行率現在已接近目標吞吐量。

Turning to Slide 5 for a discussion on revenues. By way of background and as a reminder of our discussion on our last earnings call, aligning with our contracts and IFRS reporting requirements, we recognized revenues on product sales as the point of delivery to our customers based on product sales volume and prevailing market metal prices. Our customers take by alot of materials, and we retain pricing exposure until the related receivable is fully settled. As a result, firm market value adjustments are good to revenue.

翻到幻燈片 5 討論收入問題。作為背景介紹並提醒我們在上次收益電話會議上的討論，根據我們的合約和 IFRS 報告要求，我們根據產品銷售量和現行市場金屬價格，將產品銷售收入確認為交付給客戶的點。我們的客戶購買大量材料，我們保留定價風險，直到相關應收帳款完全結清為止。因此，公司市值調整對營收有利。

Again is recognized with metal prices, nickel and cobalt in particular increased, and the loss is recognized when metal prices decrease. Also to add, we are currently paid for cobalt and nickel and not for the lithium in our black mass field due to the lack of black mass refining capacity available in the market. As a reminder, part of our competitive differentiation will be our ability to extract lithium from black mass once our Rochester Hub is operational.

再次，當金屬價格，特別是鎳和鈷的價格上漲時，就會確認損失，而當金屬價格下跌時，就會確認損失。另外，由於市場上缺乏黑塊精煉能力，我們目前獲得的是鈷和鎳的報酬，而不是黑塊油田中的鋰的報酬。提醒一下，一旦我們的羅徹斯特中心投入運營，我們的競爭優勢之一就是從黑色物質中提取鋰的能力。

Revenues from product sales and recycling services of $5.4 million increased from $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2021. Total revenue was negative $2 million compared with a positive $1.7 million for the same period last year. The decrease in total revenue was primarily driven by a non-cash fair market value adjustment of $7.3 million in the third quarter this year versus a fair market value gain of $400,000 in the comparable period last year. This was as a direct result of declines of 32% and 37% for nickel and cobalt prices, respectively, during the quarter, which impacted approximately 3,200 unsettled tonnes related to prior previewed black mass sales. As shown here, this negative fair market value adjustment is non-cash and largely a reversal of fair market value gains through the first half of the year when metal prices were rising.

產品銷售和回收服務收入為 540 萬美元，高於 2021 年第三季的 130 萬美元。總收入為負 200 萬美元，而去年同期為正 170 萬美元。總營收的減少主要是由於今年第三季非現金公允市價調整為 730 萬美元，而去年同期公允市價收益為 40 萬美元。這是由於本季鎳價和鈷價分別下跌 32% 和 37% 直接導致的，這影響了與先前預測的黑色批量銷售相關的約 3,200 噸未結算商品。如圖所示，這種負的公平市場價值調整是非現金的，並且在很大程度上逆轉了上半年金屬價格上漲時的公平市場價值收益。

The cumulative fair market value adjustment for the year was a negative $1.6 million. Total revenues for the 3 quarters were $10.5 million versus $3 million for the comparable period last year. As nickel and cobalt prices continue to change, we would expect further fair market value adjustments to revenue with potential for increases or decreases.

全年累計公平市價調整為負 160 萬美元。這三個季度的總收入為 1,050 萬美元，而去年同期的總收入為 300 萬美元。隨著鎳和鈷價格的持續變化，我們預計收入將進一步受到公平市場價值調整，有可能增加或減少。

Just to close on what is most important here, during the third quarter, when excluding the fair market value adjustments, our revenue from product sales and recycling services increased fourfold relative to the same period last year, which demonstrates the underlying growth in our business as we continue to expand our network.

最後，最重要的一點是，在第三季度，不包括公平市場價值調整，我們的產品銷售和回收服務收入比去年同期增長了四倍，這表明隨著我們繼續擴大網絡，我們的業務實現了潛在的增長。

Turning to Slide 6 for adjusted EBITDA, both grew year-on-year and sequential comparison. Compared to last year, adjusted EBITDA loss was approximately $31.6 million versus $5.3 million. This reflects increased operating expenses for the ongoing expansion of operations in North America and Europe. Specifically, these are largely related to higher employee compensation for operational, corporate, commercial and (indiscernable) resources, and we continue to support the expansion of our network, particularly the Rochester Hub.

翻到投影片 6 檢視調整後的 EBITDA，兩者較去年同期和較上季均成長。與去年相比，調整後的 EBITDA 虧損約為 3,160 萬美元，去年同期為 530 萬美元。這反映了北美和歐洲業務持續擴張導致的營運費用增加。具體來說，這些主要與營運、企業、商業和（難以辨別）資源的員工薪酬提高有關，我們將繼續支持我們網絡的擴展，特別是羅徹斯特樞紐。

Costs associated with becoming a public company, given the timing of our listing in August 2021, rising raw material and supply attributable to our increased black mass reduction from our spoke operations. I would also note that the quarter included noncash stock-based compensation of $4 million versus $300,000 this time last year, and a non-cash fair market value pricing loss of $7.3 million during the quarter, which compares to a gaining of 40 in the prior year. On a sequential basis compared to last quarter, adjusted EBITDA was primarily impacted by the non-cash fair market value.

考慮到我們上市的時間是 2021 年 8 月，成為上市公司的相關成本，原材料和供應的增加歸因於我們輻條業務中黑色物質減少量的增加。我還要指出的是，本季的非現金股票薪酬為 400 萬美元，而去年同期為 30 萬美元，本季的非現金公平市場價值定價損失為 730 萬美元，而去年同期為盈利 4000 萬美元。與上一季相比，調整後的 EBITDA 主要受到非現金公平市價的影響。

Turning to Slide 7 for a review of the strength of our balance sheet and liquidity. Li-Cycle ended the third quarter with approximately $650 million in cash on hand. As previously disclosed, we enhanced our balance sheet during the quarter was $250 million in combined expense proceeds from LG and Glencore. This strong balance sheet position is expected to provide sufficient liquidity for capital and operating needs to fund our current pipeline of projects and development.

翻到投影片 7，回顧我們的資產負債表和流動性的強度。 Li-Cycle 第三季末手頭現金約 6.5 億美元。如前所述，本季我們透過 LG 和 Glencore 的聯合支出收益增強了我們的資產負債表，增幅達 2.5 億美元。強勁的資產負債表狀況預計將為資本和營運需求提供充足的流動性，以資助我們目前的專案和開發。

During the quarter, we invested $82 million in capital expenditures with the majority of this investment allocated to security equipment for the continued construction of our Rochester hub alongside equipment expenditure and leasehold improvements for our North American and European spokes. With much of our procurement needs having now been met, we expect the majority of our future capital expenditures will be focused on construction for the continued build-out of our Rochester Hub.

在本季度，我們投資了 8,200 萬美元的資本支出，其中大部分投資用於繼續建造羅徹斯特樞紐的安全設備，以及北美和歐洲輻條的設備支出和租賃改良。由於我們的大部分採購需求現已滿足，我們預計未來的大部分資本支出將集中在羅徹斯特樞紐的持續建設。

We anticipate providing an initial capital expenditure outlook for 2023 early next year. We remain committed to our balanced efforts to operating spend and investing in corporate infrastructure that will support our expanding network to drive significant economics in years to come.

我們預計明年初提供 2023 年的初步資本支出展望。我們將繼續致力於平衡營運支出和企業基礎設施投資，以支持我們不斷擴大的網絡，並在未來幾年推動顯著的經濟發展。

Finally, we continue to explore additional debt funding opportunities from both traditional and government sources that will optimize our captive structure and provide flexibility. This is intended to enable additional growth to meet significant customer demand beyond the current pipeline. Now I'll turn things over to Ajay.

最後，我們將繼續探索來自傳統和政府管道的額外債務融資機會，以優化我們的自保結構並提供靈活性。此舉旨在實現額外的成長，以滿足當前通路之外的大量客戶需求。現在我將把事情交給阿傑。

Thank you, Debbie. I will discuss the continued favorable market and regulatory secular trends and provide an update on our spoke and hub network. Turning to Slide 8. We continue to see favorable trends for early movers in the battery supply chain, with tight supply and demand dynamics, these trends underscore the importance of incorporating recycled materials into the supply chain to help augment reliable domestic supply. Our total addressable market or 10 for lithium ion batteries available for recycling in our focus regions is driven by increased battery manufacturer mega factory investments, which is expected to grow by more than 16x by 2025 from current levels. As a result, this is projected to drive combined TAM growth in terms of lithium ion batteries available for recycling in North America and Europe by more than 5x by 2025 from current levels. It is this dynamic that is causing many global supply chain participants to lock in commercial recycling arrangements, which we continue to see benefiting Li-Cycle as we expand our network capacity.

謝謝你，黛比。我將討論持續有利的市場和監管長期趨勢，並提供我們的輻條和樞紐網絡的最新資訊。翻到幻燈片 8。我們繼續看到電池供應鏈早期推動者的有利趨勢，在供需動態緊張的情況下，這些趨勢凸顯了將回收材料納入供應鏈以幫助增加可靠的國內供應的重要性。我們重點關注的地區可供回收的鋰離子電池總目標市場為 10，這得益於電池製造商大型工廠投資的增加，預計到 2025 年將比目前的水平增長 16 倍以上。因此，預計到 2025 年，北美和歐洲可回收的鋰離子電池的 TAM 總量將比目前水準增加 5 倍以上。正是這種動態導致許多全球供應鏈參與者鎖定商業回收安排，隨著我們擴大網路容量，我們繼續看到這將使 Li-Cycle 受益。

Turning to Slide 9. We continue to see favorable tailwinds from a number of new public policy programs in the U.S., aimed at providing financial support to facilitate domestic expansion of the battery supply infrastructure and such as getting this to be a critical strategic industry. The recent enactment of the inflation Reduction Act or the IRA should provide significant benefits to the EV battery cycling industry beginning in 2023. The IRA comes on the heel of the bipartisan infrastructure law, which calls for $6 billion in grants across the battery sector supply chain. As well, the presidential determination is carving out $500 million in investment to support critical materials for battery production. We believe the IRA recognizes recycling as an accelerator for the domestic supply of battery materials to support the increasing demand for EVs and energy storage. These programs will reduce the cost of building new facilities to produce domestic critical materials and help bring down manufacturing costs for batteries. We highlight here key IRA benefits broadly for the recycling industry and our business, namely up to $250 billion in clean energy loans to the DOE Loan Program Office or LTO, up to $60 billion in 5-year production tax credits, which provided for 10% of the cost of producing critical materials, including lithium, cobalt and nickel. And of the $10 billion in advanced energy product tax credits, which allocates up to a 30% investment tax credit for developing clean energy facilities in the U.S. And importantly, this includes recycling facilities.

翻到幻燈片 9。我們繼續看到美國一系列新公共政策計劃帶來的有利推動力，這些計劃旨在提供財政支持，促進電池供應基礎設施的國內擴張，並使其成為一個關鍵的戰略產業。最近頒布的《通貨膨脹削減法案》（IRA）應該會從 2023 年開始為電動車電池循環產業帶來重大利益。 IRA 緊隨兩黨基礎設施法案之後，該法案要求為整個電池產業供應鏈提供 60 億美元的撥款。此外，總統還決定投資 5 億美元來支持電池生產的關鍵材料。我們相信，IRA 將回收視為加速國內電池材料供應的加速器，以支援日益增長的電動車和儲能需求。這些項目將降低建造新設施生產國內關鍵材料的成本，並有助於降低電池的製造成本。我們在此重點介紹 IRA 對回收業和我們業務的主要好處，即向能源部貸款計劃辦公室或 LTO 提供高達 2500 億美元的清潔能源貸款，以及高達 600 億美元的 5 年期生產稅收抵免，這為包括鋰、鈷和鎳在內的關鍵材料生產成本提供了 10%。在 100 億美元的先進能源產品稅收抵免中，為在美國開發清潔能源設施分配了高達 30% 的投資稅收抵免。重要的是，這其中包括回收設施。

Additionally, it is worth noting that the IRA is pushing for building EV batteries using materials sourced in the U.S. or free trade agreement countries. New vehicles placed in service next year need at least 40% of battery critical minerals to come from the U.S. or free trade agreement countries, to qualify for the clean vehicle tax credit, and this increases to 80% by 2027. We believe this push for domestically sourced critical battery-grade materials will incentivize automakers to incorporate a higher percentage of recycled material. This is why it is critical to be a first mover with environmentally sustainable technology. Our patented technologies are proven in the North American market as a leading way to recycle lithium-ion batteries. And we have 2 key advantages. One, Lifecycle has an opportunity to explore these government funding opportunities to potentially benefit our spoken hub network growth; and two, we have the capability to assist automakers in achieving the clean vehicle tax credit conditions by meeting their production requirements for domestic content via recycled material.

此外，值得注意的是，IRA 正在推動使用來自美國或自由貿易協定國家的材料來製造電動車電池。明年投入使用的新車需要至少 40% 的電池關鍵礦物來自美國或自由貿易協定國家，才有資格獲得清潔汽車稅收抵免，到 2027 年將增加到 80%。我們相信，推動國內採購關鍵電池級材料的措施將激勵汽車製造商採用更高比例的再生材料。這就是為什麼成為環境永續技術的先驅至關重要。我們的專利技術已在北美市場得到證實，成為回收鋰離子電池的領先方式。我們有兩個主要優勢。首先，Lifecycle 有機會探索這些政府資助機會，這可能有利於我們的語音樞紐網路的成長；其次，我們有能力透過利用回收材料滿足汽車製造商對國內生產內容的要求，幫助汽車製造商實現清潔汽車稅收抵免條件。

Turning to Slide 10. Here, we depict the current portfolio of Spoke and Hub projects in North America and Europe that are expected to come online in 2022 and 2023. We will review these in more detail.

翻到幻燈片 10。在這裡，我們描述了北美和歐洲目前的 Spoke 和 Hub 專案組合，預計將於 2022 年和 2023 年上線。我們將更詳細地審查這些項目。

Turning to Slide 11. As we've discussed on prior earnings calls, in order to be a reliable secondary source of battery grading materials, it is important to secure sustainable feedstock for the intake of battery materials for recycling. Here, we show the competitive advantages of our spoke network that make Li-Cycle go to leading recycling strategic partner for battery supply chain participants.

翻到幻燈片 11。正如我們在先前的收益電話會議上所討論的那樣，為了成為電池分級材料的可靠二次來源，確保用於回收電池材料的可持續原料非常重要。在這裡，我們展示了我們的輻射網路的競爭優勢，這使得 Li-Cycle 成為電池供應鏈參與者的領先回收策略合作夥伴。

First, we are battery and form factor agnostic with the capability to process entire EV and energy storage battery packs with no disassembling. This has provided Li-Cycle with a further edge as EV battery packs have continued to become larger and automakers are making sell-to-pack architecture with minimal ability to dismantle. Hence, our full pack processing capabilities that are proven at our Arizona spoke and are being implemented in subsequent spokes such as our Alabama spoke, provide Li-Cycle with a strong competitive edge.

首先，我們不受電池和外形尺寸的限制，能夠處理整個電動車和儲能電池組而無需拆卸。隨著電動車電池組變得越來越大，並且汽車製造商正在製造拆解能力極低的銷售到包裝架構，這為 Li-Cycle 提供了進一步的優勢。因此，我們在亞利桑那州的工廠已經證明了我們的完整包裝處理能力，並且正在阿拉巴馬州等後續工廠實施，這為 Li-Cycle 提供了強大的競爭優勢。

Second, we are also processing with an increasingly efficient, environmentally sustainable footprint with minimal emissions and wastewater discharge. This provides significant accelerated advantages in terms of permitting. And third, to facilitate an adequate intake of batterys to filter through recycling, we are looking at our spokes posted battery and automotive manufacturers and old EV penetration, thereby minimizing transportation risk and costs. To reiterate, we are positioning the spoke network to capture growing volumes of manufacturing scrap provide a strong base load of materials for operations. Supplementing this will be end-of-life battery volumes, which should continue to rise steadily in the coming decades.

其次，我們也正在以越來越有效率、環境永續的方式進行加工，最大限度地減少排放和廢水排放。這在許可方面提供了顯著的加速優勢。第三，為了促進足夠的電池攝取以進行回收過濾，我們正在關注電池和汽車製造商以及舊電動車的普及率，從而最大限度地降低運輸風險和成本。重申一下，我們正在定位輻射網絡，以捕獲越來越多的製造廢料，為營運提供強大的材料基礎負荷。與之相補充的是報廢電池的數量，未來幾十年這一數量將繼續穩步上升。

Turning to Slide 12 for an update on our European expansion. Similar to our strategy in North America, we are strategically targeting spoke locations in close proximity to battery and electric vehicle manufacturers and EV penetration. We expect this spoke capacity will be easily absorbed by robust European demand. In particular, from EV-related battery supply and energy storage systems given high renewable energy views in the region, which is resulting in additional commercial partnerships. We have secured strategic sites and have initiated the equipment fabrication with a local industrial partner. In Norway, our site is located with favorable access to logistics networks. Further, the site will meet most of its energy needs through sustainable sources, making our business an attractive commercial partner in Europe. In Germany, our site is located near various cell, battery and EV manufacturing facilities and also has access to renewable energy sources. Similar to the Arizona and Alabama spokes, we are taking a staged approach to the start-up of these facilities, with Germany plans to be online first, followed shortly by Norway. We expect both of the European spokes to be in production by the second half of fiscal 2023. This is a modest shift from the first half of the year takes to more conservative lens for additional commissioning and startup time as we continue to implement the best operational practices and learnings from the North American states.

請翻到第 12 張投影片來了解我們歐洲擴張的最新情況。與我們在北美的策略類似，我們策略性地瞄準靠近電池和電動車製造商以及電動車普及率較高的地區。我們預計，這種輻射產能將很容易被強勁的歐洲需求所吸收。特別是從與電動車相關的電池供應和儲能係統來看，該地區對再生能源的關注度很高，從而產生了更多的商業合作夥伴關係。我們已經獲得了戰略地點，並已與當地工業合作夥伴啟動設備製造。在挪威，我們的工廠位於交通便利的物流網絡所在地。此外，該工廠將透過永續能源滿足其大部分能源需求，使我們的企業成為歐洲有吸引力的商業合作夥伴。在德國，我們的工廠位於各種電池、蓄電池和電動車製造設施附近，並且還可以使用再生能源。與亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州的輻條類似，我們採取分階段的方式啟動這些設施，德國計劃首先上線，隨後是挪威。我們預計，兩條歐洲輻條都將在 2023 財年下半年投入生產。與上半年相比，這是一個溫和的轉變，我們採取了更保守的視角來考慮額外的調試和啟動時間，因為我們將繼續實施北美各州的最佳營運實踐和經驗教訓。

Turning to Slide 13 for an update on our new North America spokes, namely Arizona and Alabama. As Debbie discussed earlier, during the third quarter, we took deliberate steps to optimize operations at these spoke facilities, which are the first of their time to process the entire EV and stationary energy storage battery packs without expansion. In order to make these improvements, the pace of operations at our Arizona were temporarily affected and we moderately postponed the start-up of our Alabama spoke, which is a carbon copy of the Arizona spoke. Since completing these low capital cost optimization projects, the Arizona spoke is now ramping successfully to near target throughput and is demonstrating higher recovery yields of black mass relative to our first generation plants in Ontario and New York.

翻到投影片 13 來了解我們新的北美輻條（即亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州）的最新情況。正如黛比之前所討論的，在第三季度，我們採取了慎重的措施來優化這些輻射設施的運營，這是它們首次在不擴張的情況下處理整個電動車和固定式儲能電池組。為了實現這些改進，我們亞利桑那州的營運節奏暫時受到影響，我們適度地推遲了阿拉巴馬輻條的啟動，阿拉巴馬輻條是亞利桑那州輻條的翻版。自從完成這些低資本成本優化項目以來，亞利桑那州的工廠現已成功提升至接近目標產量，並且相對於我們在安大略省和紐約州的第一代工廠而言，其黑料回收率更高。

We are leveraging the key learnings and process improvements from the Arizona spoke for the relevant Alabama spoke and European spoke locations. Lastly, we continue to work with LTM on the development of the Ohio spoke and are valuing the optimal execution path. Now I'll turn it over to Tim to provide an update on our Rochester health.

我們正在利用亞利桑那州輻射區的關鍵經驗和流程改進，將其推廣到相關的阿拉巴馬州輻射區和歐洲輻射區。最後，我們繼續與 LTM 合作開發俄亥俄州輻條，並正在評估最佳執行路徑。現在我將把時間交給提姆，讓他介紹一下我們羅徹斯特的健康狀況。

Thank you, Ajay. I'll provide an overview and update of the Rochester hub, which is expected to be the first commercial battery resource recovery facility in North America, positioning Li-Cycle as a leading domestic supplier of battery-grade materials.

謝謝你，阿傑。我將概述和更新羅徹斯特中心的情況，該中心預計將成為北美首個商業電池資源回收設施，將 Li-Cycle 定位為國內領先的電池級材料供應商。

Starting with Slide 14 for the key attributes of the Rochester hub. While our facility will produce a range of end products, we have focused on the production of lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate as key value drivers. We estimate that the hub will process battery material that is equivalent to approximately 225,000 electric vehicles per year. We strategically selected the Rochester Eastman Business Park for the location of our hub to leverage existing infrastructure for power, steam and cooling water. Also worth highlighting is that our proprietary technology has been developed to minimize air emissions and applies a 0 liquid discharge technology where liquid streams are collected and treated on site. This process provides a sustainable pathway for critical materials and contribute to the circular economy. This has proven to be an advantage for obtaining key environmental permits for the construction of the Rochester Hub.

從幻燈片 14 開始介紹羅徹斯特樞紐的主要屬性。雖然我們的工廠將生產一系列最終產品，但我們專注於生產碳酸鋰、硫酸鎳和硫酸鈷作為關鍵價值驅動因素。我們估計該中心每年將處理相當於約 225,000 輛電動車的電池材料。我們策略性地選擇羅徹斯特伊士曼商業園區作為我們樞紐的所在地，以利用現有的電力、蒸汽和冷卻水基礎設施。另外值得強調的是，我們開發的專有技術可以最大限度地減少空氣排放，並採用零液體排放技術，在現場收集和處理液體流量。這個過程為關鍵材料提供了可持續的途徑並促進了循環經濟。事實證明，這對於獲得羅徹斯特樞紐建設的關鍵環境許可具有優勢。

Turning to Slide 15. Just to take a step back briefly, I would like to discuss our pilot plant, which underpins the design for commercializing the Rochester hub. We proved out the process of our hub with a large-scale pilot plant in Kingston, Ontario, which operated for over 1 year, primarily between 2019 and 2020. We tested our flow sheet with known equipment and proven chemical processing technologies. The scale of the individual unit operations exceeded that of industry standards for piloting this type of equipment, giving us added confidence regarding our ability to scale up. Finally, we tested and qualified the end products with key customers in the global battery supply chain, many of whom we are working with today.

翻到第 15 張投影片。簡單回顧一下，我想討論我們的試驗工廠，它是羅徹斯特樞紐商業化設計的基礎。我們在安大略省金斯頓的一家大型中試工廠驗證了我們中心的工藝流程，該工廠運行了一年多，主要在 2019 年至 2020 年期間。我們使用已知設備和成熟的化學加工技術測試了我們的流程圖。單一單元操作的規模超過了試點此類設備的行業標準，這讓我們對擴大規模的能力更加有信心。最後，我們與全球電池供應鏈中的關鍵客戶一起對最終產品進行了測試和認證，其中許多客戶我們目前仍在合作。

Turning to Slide 16. You will see the layout of the Rochester hub. The number of buildings refer to different processing areas. Starting with Area 100. Here, we received one ton bags of black mass from our warehouse. The black mass is unloaded into leaching tanks, which are used to dissolve the metals in water and acid, leading behind the graphite, which is dried and packaged for shipment. The liquid solution containing the metals is called the pregnant leach solution or PLS. Moving forward, the PLS solution then goes through 2 stages of impurity removal for elements such as copper, aluminum and iron in areas 200 and 300. Following impurity removal, the POS enters the heart of the plant, 3 solvent extraction circuits in areas 400, 500 and 600 are used to selectively recover manganese, cobalt and nickel before crystallization, drying and packaging of these products. The PLS solution now contains mostly sodium and lithium. In Area 800, the sodium is recovered through crystallization ahead of lithium carbonate production.

翻到幻燈片 16。您將看到羅徹斯特樞紐的佈局。建築物的數量指的是不同的加工區域。從 100 區開始。在這裡，我們從倉庫收到了一噸重的黑色物質袋。黑色物質被卸載到浸出槽中，用於將金屬溶解在水和酸中，然後得到石墨，對其進行乾燥和包裝以備運輸。含有金屬的液體溶液稱為浸出濃液或PLS。接下來，PLS 溶液在 200 和 300 區域經過兩階段雜質去除，去除銅、鋁和鐵等元素。去除雜質後，POS 進入工廠的核心，在 400、500 和 600 區域的 3 個溶劑萃取迴路用於選擇性回收錳、鈷和鎳，然後對這些產品進行結晶、乾燥和包裝。 PLS 溶液現在主要含有鈉和鋰。在 800 區，在生產碳酸鋰之前透過結晶回收鈉。

The Rochester has 2 stages of lithium production shown in Area 900. First, a crude lithium carbonate is produced by adding sodium carbonate. Impurities are removed in a second step called bicarbonation which provides significant flexibility to produce a battery grade lithium carbonate product.

羅徹斯特的鋰生產有兩個階段，如 900 區所示。首先，透過添加碳酸鈉生成粗碳酸鋰。第二步，即碳酸氫化，去除雜質，這為生產電池級碳酸鋰產品提供了極大的靈活性。

The linear design of the process provides flexibility to handle a wide variety of inputs from black mass with client controls on product quality. As part of our goal to set the bar for environmentally sustainable refining of battery grade materials, the hub also includes a 0 liquid discharge circuit, which will cover trace and purities and produces fresh condensate water.

此流程的線性設計提供了靈活性，可以處理來自黑料的各種輸入，並由客戶控制產品品質。作為我們設定電池級材料環境可持續精煉標準的目標的一部分，該中心還包括一個 0 液體排放迴路，該迴路將覆蓋微量和純度並產生新鮮的冷凝水。

Turning to Slide 17 for an update on the construction of the hub. To recap, our team has achieved significant milestones to date. We obtained key environmental permits, which enabled us to move forward with the project construction. We completed key commercial contracts for engineering and procurement with Hatch and for construction management with MasTec Industrial. And, we locked in the delivery schedule and pricing for the majority of the long lead equipment and made progress purchasing construction materials. During the third quarter, we have maintained our procurement momentum, providing enhanced confidence in material and equipment pricing to keep our projected time line and costs within target. Additional highlights include: the warehouse structural building is near complete and on track to receive black mass by the spring of 2023. Construction has advanced for Areas 100 associated with Black mass leaching and areas 400, 500 and 600 sold in extraction with concrete foundations underway receiving our building steel material and significant progress on underground utilities. While we continue to monitor supply chain laser costs and seasonality conditions in Rochester, New York, the hub remains on track to start commissioning in stages in 2023.

翻到投影片 17 來了解樞紐建設的最新情況。總而言之，我們的團隊迄今為止已經取得了重大的里程碑。我們取得了關鍵的環境許可，使我們能夠推進專案建設。我們與 Hatch 完成了工程和採購的關鍵商業合同，並與 MasTec Industrial 完成了施工管理的關鍵商業合約。而且，我們鎖定了大部分長週期設備的交貨時間表和定價，並在採購建築材料方面取得了進展。在第三季度，我們保持了採購勢頭，增強了對材料和設備定價的信心，使我們預期的時間表和成本保持在目標範圍內。其他亮點包括：倉庫結構建築已接近完工，預計將於 2023 年春季接收黑體。與黑體浸出相關的 100 區以及用於開採的 400、500 和 600 區的建設已取得進展，混凝土基礎正在進行中，接收我們的建築鋼材，地下公用設施也取得了重大進展。在我們繼續監測紐約州羅徹斯特的供應鏈雷射成本和季節性條件的同時，該中心仍有望在 2023 年開始分階段調試。

Turning to Slide 18. I would like to close with a recap. We are accelerating growth based on a strong secular market and government policies that support a localized supply of critical Battery materials. Underpinned by commercial contracts and strategic partnerships, we are continuing our first mover rollout of our spoke and hub network in North America and Europe with the Rochester hub being a key value driver. We have sufficient liquidity to fund our current project pipeline and operating needs. In addition, we continue to evaluate multiple capital sources, including debt financing alternatives from both traditional and government sources in support of the next phase of growth beyond our current project pipeline. That concludes our formal remarks. Operator, we are ready to take questions.

翻到第 18 張投影片。我想以一個回顧來結束。我們正在憑藉強勁的長期市場和支持關鍵電池材料在地化供應的政府政策來加速成長。在商業合約和策略夥伴關係的支持下，我們將繼續在北美和歐洲率先推出我們的輻射和樞紐網絡，其中羅徹斯特樞紐是關鍵的價值驅動因素。我們擁有充足的流動資金來滿足我們目前的專案儲備和營運需求。此外，我們繼續評估多種資本來源，包括來自傳統和政府來源的債務融資替代方案，以支持我們目前專案範圍之外的下一階段成長。我們的正式發言到此結束。接線員，我們準備好回答問題了。

Thank you. At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your touch tone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the queue at any time, you may do so by pressing star 2. We remind you to please pick up your headset for optimal down quality. Thank you. Our first question will come from Robin Fiedler with BMO Capital Markets. your line is now open.

謝謝。此時，如果您想提問，請按按鍵電話上的星號 1。如果您希望隨時退出佇列，可以按星號 2 退出。我們提醒您，請拿起耳機以獲得最佳的下載品質。謝謝。我們的第一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Robin Fiedler。您的線路現已開通。

Good morning. My first question is on the hub commissioning guidance. So is only a portion of the 90,000-ton hub then can be starting up initially? And then maybe you can walk us through the cadence timing to get to the full operating rate.

早安.我的第一個問題是關於樞紐調試指導。那麼，這個9萬噸級樞紐最初只能啟動一部分嗎？然後也許您可以向我們介紹一下達到最高運行率的節奏時間。

Hey Rob, and good morning. I'll turn it over to Tim, who will provide some color there.

嘿，羅布，早安。我將把它交給蒂姆，他將提供一些詳細資訊。

Good morning, Robin. So when we're talking about commissioning, now that we're further advanced on the project overall, we're now starting to build out our detailed commissioning plan. And what we're talking about here is that effectively commissioning is done in what we're going to refer to as 3 stages. Stages 1, through to 3, starting with completion checks, we will then do league testing, instrumentation work in terms of calibration before the final stage of commissioning, which is ultimately the introduction on black mass.

早安，羅賓。因此，當我們談論調試時，由於我們在整個專案上取得了進一步的進展，我們現在開始製定詳細的調試計劃。我們在這裡討論的是，有效的調試是分三個階段進行的。第 1 階段到第 3 階段，從完成檢查開始，然後我們將進行聯賽測試、校準方面的儀器工作，然後進行調試的最後階段，最終進行黑體引入。

What you'll see on Slide 17 is the commissioning actually overlaps with construction. So what's important is that as we go through the startup of the plant, it's not the sort of plan that you just turn everything on all in one go. It's actually important to tie in the sequencing of commissioning with construction, because you want to have certain circuits available so that we can actually start up and progressively move through the plant and doing those checks as part of the end of construction. So that's all we mean by that.

您將在第 17 張投影片上看到，調試實際上與施工重疊。因此，重要的是，當我們啟動工廠時，這並不是那種一次性把所有東西都啟動起來的計劃。實際上，將調試與施工的順序結合起來非常重要，因為您需要有某些電路可用，以便我們能夠實際啟動並逐步完成工廠建設，並在施工結束時進行這些檢查。這就是我們的全部意思。

But we want to sort of start to provide this sort of framework because as we get closer to this milestone, we expect to be able to come back to you with more color in relation to how we're progressing in relation to these different stages and what we're doing. We want to set up the framework in terms of terminology early.

但我們希望開始提供這種框架，因為隨著我們越來越接近這個里程碑，我們希望能夠向您提供更多關於我們在這些不同階段的進展以及我們正在做的事情的詳細資訊。我們希望儘早建立術語方面的架構。

Okay. Maybe just a follow-up. So I mean, I appreciate that there are different steps associated with the commissioning phase itself. But as far as the wording of a stage commission. I just want to be sure that, that doesn't mean that the 90,000 tons is going to be introduced in stages as well as just from like a volume or an out perspective? I just want to clear up that, that stage commissioning, once you have completed, it's 90,000 ton run rate thereafter. Is that correct?

好的。也許只是後續行動。所以我的意思是，我很欣賞與調試階段本身相關的不同步驟。但就舞台委託的措詞而言。我只是想確定一下，這並不意味著這 90,000 噸將分階段引入，或僅從數量或外部角度來看？我只是想澄清一下，該階段的調試一旦完成，之後的運行率就是 90,000 噸。對嗎？

Yes. So I'm not sure what your thinking like it's 35,000 tonnes per year of black mass. And so yes, 35,000 tonnes per year back mass. So the stages, just to break it down in more detail, stage 1 is really about confirming satisfactory completeness against the engineering designs. This is the checks and balances, basically, the sign-off on the end of construction or mechanical completion across the different stages. Stage 2 is where we're now energizing equipment. We're doing lead testing and water testing through the system. We'll be doing instrument calibrations and the like. And then Stage 3 is the introduction of black mass. It's not actually, we're not talking about starting up in terms of like stages of production throughput. It's really about stages of activity in terms of how we sequence the different parts of commissioning.

是的。所以我不確定您是怎麼想的，好像每年有 35,000 噸黑色物質。是的，每年可恢復 35,000 噸質量。因此，為了更詳細地分解這些階段，第 1 階段實際上是確認工程設計的完整性令人滿意。這就是製衡，基本上是不同階段施工結束或機械完工的簽字。第二階段是我們現在為設備供電。我們正在透過該系統進行鉛測試和水測試。我們將進行儀器校準等工作。第三階段是引入黑質。事實上，我們並不是談論生產吞吐量階段的啟動。這實際上是關於活動階段，即我們如何對調試的不同部分進行排序。

Okay. That's clear. And then just based the graphic on Slide 17, am I right to assume that maybe the commissioning step number three, the black mass introduction, kind of more Q1 '24 than spring, or is it too early to specific timing on that?

好的。這很清楚。然後僅根據幻燈片 17 上的圖表，我是否可以正確地假設，也許第三步調試，即黑體引入，是在 2024 年第一季而不是春季，還是現在就確定具體時間還為時過早？

Yes, I'd like to just hold off on giving specific timing for now, Robin. I want to get further through construction, but I do want to lay it out so that we can come back to you and talk about how we're going to sequence commissioning as we roll out the end of construction.

是的，羅賓，我現在還不想透露具體的時間。我想進一步了解施工情況，但我確實想把它講清楚，以便我們可以回到您身邊，討論在施工結束時我們將如何按順序進行調試。

Okay perfect. If I can just sneak one more question in. I did want to touch on the Inflation Reduction Act. I just want to be clear, I know you outlined some of the different benefits that you could can receive. So, on the 10% production tax credit and the potential of the investment tax credit, is that something you guys expect to receive? Is that something you've been told you will receive? Or is it still, I guess, to be determined, you just would assume that you would be in line or something like that, but maybe not quite definitive yet. Is that fair? Or I just want to be clear on that.

好的，完美。如果我可以再偷偷問一個問題的話。我確實想談談《通貨膨脹削減法案》。我只是想說清楚，我知道您概述了您可以獲得的一些不同的好處。那麼，關於 10% 的生產稅收抵免和投資稅收抵免的潛力，你們期望獲得這些嗎？有人告訴過你將會收到這個東西嗎？或者我猜這還有待確定，你只是假設你會排隊或類似的事情，但可能還不太確定。這樣公平嗎？或者我只是想明確這一點。

Yes, I would say we can't speak specifically to anything that's not firm and ready to be public, but I would just say the strategy here with deadline. There's a lot of different programs through different legislature and enactment to various things that obviously come through. So, that would be to describe it. I think 2 would be the tax credit, so our understanding is that that's going through the treasury department, and it would come through going to be available starting for next year, but there will be a process associated with that to assess and allocate appropriately. So really just wanted to, the purpose of the 5 is to help distill all this relatively confusing information out there sometimes and what's applicable potentially for us.

是的，我想說我們不能具體談論任何尚未確定且準備公開的事情，但我只想說這裡的策略是有最後期限的。透過不同的立法和法令，顯然可以製定出許多不同的計劃來解決各種問題。那麼，這就是對它的描述。我認為 2 是稅收抵免，所以我們的理解是，這將透過財政部進行，並將從明年開始提供，但會有一個與之相關的流程來評估和適當分配。所以實際上只是想，5 的目的是幫助提煉出有時相對令人困惑的資訊以及可能對我們適用的資訊。

Our next question will come from Ben Kallo with Baird. Your line is now open.

我們的下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Ben Kallo。您的線路現已開通。

Maybe just first, and thanks for the explanation of the fair market value. But just how does it relate to cash? And then is there any way that you can kind of mute that volatility going forward and the way that you structure contracts? And then, Tim, I have some questions on a follow-up from the previous call or 2.

也許只是首先，感謝您對公平市場價值的解釋。但它與現金到底有何關係？那麼，有沒有什麼方法可以減輕未來的波動以及建立合約的方式呢？然後，提姆，我對前一兩次通話的後續情況有一些疑問。

Yes. Ben, thanks for the question. So on the FMV side and the financial side, Debbie will take that, and then Tim will take the rest. So, Debbie.

是的。本，謝謝你的提問。因此，在公平市場價值 (FMV) 和財務方面，黛比 (Debbie) 將承擔一部分，然後 Tim 將承擔剩餘部分。那麼，黛比。

Good morning, Ben. So the fair market value just the non-cash, right? So it impacts your cash to the extent that you're settled on the market value at settlement time, but the ups and downs in the in between time for the adjustment to our noncash adjustment. And then as we look forward, I think maybe just a reminder that we're in this world right now where we're selling black mass, and that's not the world we're going to be in. So there's a long settlement period associated with the black mass is traded.. Eventually, that black mass will be produced in our spokes and it will go to our hubs for further refining into the battery materials. And the settlement period on those types of contracts will be much shorter. So when we get to that stage, the window of exposure for us will be much reduced.

早安，本。那麼公平市場價值只是非現金，對嗎？因此，它會影響您的現金，因為您在結算時會根據市場價值進行結算，但在此期間，我們的非現金調整會出現起伏。當我們展望未來時，我想這也許只是提醒我們，我們現在所處的世界是在販賣黑色物質，而這不是我們將要處在的世界。因此，與黑色物質交易相關的結算期很長。最終，這些黑色物質將在我們的輻條中生產出來，並被送到我們的輪轂中，進一步提煉成電池材料。而這類合約的結算期將會短得多。因此，當我們到達那個階段時，我們的曝光機會就會大大減少。

Just to add to that, we get spend from a near-term modeling standpoint, which at the moment is offline. But in the MD&A under the revenue discussion, we've actually provided even further disclosure regarding kind of an aging analysis of black mass that is being settled. So we can chat about that separately, but just to flag that we can enhance disclosure on that.

補充一點，我們從近期建模的角度取得支出，目前處於離線狀態。但在 MD&A 的收入討論中，我們實際上提供了有關正在解決的黑色品質老化分析的進一步披露。因此，我們可以單獨討論這個問題，但只是為了表明我們可以加強對此的披露。

Okay. Great. And just on the different steps of the solvent extraction. I don't know if it's in the time line here, but it looks like there are several steps of different solvent extractions. How long does it take to get, I guess, the correct formula for the lack of a better word, of solvents before you're up and running. And we don't have to kind of tweak that, and that can take time to figure outl, the different mixture that you need. I'm just wondering how that ramps into the previous question about the ramp-up of how that extends because of the several steps there.

好的。偉大的。並且僅涉及溶劑萃取的不同步驟。我不知道它是否在時間線內，但看起來有幾個不同溶劑萃取的步驟。我猜，在開始運行之前，需要多長時間才能得到正確的溶劑配方（找不到更好的詞來形容）。我們不需要對此進行調整，而且這可能需要花費一些時間來弄清楚您需要的不同混合物。我只是想知道，由於那裡有幾個步驟，這與之前關於如何延伸的提升有關。

Yes. No worries. And happy to answer that. So basically, we know the formulation of the solvent extraction reagents that we'll be using. It's the same process that we've run through our demonstration plant, so the same extracting same diluent, same processing conditions. And so from that perspective, we're not expecting to make any changes there. So we don't expect that in itself will affect our commissioning or ramp up. The #1 thing about commissioningon the sole extraction side is really about getting the solutions moving through at the right flow rates. And so it's all about volumetric flow rates through solid extraction ultimately. That's what you're targeting, which is much more mechanical than it is processing in nature.

是的。不用擔心。我很高興回答這個問題。所以基本上，我們知道我們將要使用的溶劑萃取試劑的配方。這與我們在示範工廠中運行的流程相同，因此提取相同的稀釋劑，使用相同的加工條件。因此從這個角度來看，我們不希望在那裡做出任何改變。因此，我們並不認為這本身會影響我們的調試或提升。關於唯一提取側的調試，最重要的事情實際上是讓溶液以正確的流速流過。因此，最終一切都與透過固體提取的體積流速有關。這就是你的目標，它本質上是機械的而不是處理的。

Okay. That's good for me. Thank you guys.

好的。這對我來說很好。謝謝你們。

Our next question will come from Brian Dobson with Chardan Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chardan Capital Markets 的 Brian Dobson。您的線路現已開通。

Good morning. Do you think that you could speak to your expected total capacity during each of the 3 quarters? And then further, what you expect your capacity utilization rates to be in each of those quarters.

早安.您能否談談這三個季度中每季的預期總產能？然後進一步，您預計每季的產能利用率是多少。

Right. Sorry, do you mean ,just to be clear, this past fiscal year?

正確的。抱歉，請問您是指過去的財政年度嗎？

No, moving forward over the next several quarters, what do you expect your capacity utilization rate to be?

不，在接下來的幾個季度裡，您預計產能利用率會是多少？

Yes. So, I think there is some broad indication there, also reaching our year-end, and then we will have the year-end call in January. So I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but there will be some preview of the business outlook for the year. So I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. But I would say just high level and then maybe Debbie or Tim want add on, we elucidated there. I mean, obviously, on the surface of it, it looks pretty drastic in terms of the change to be frank about it. But really at the end of the day here, as Debbie articulated and I did, it's really a shift of approximately 1 to 2 quarters relative to where we wanted to be. And we took the tough decisions to fix these low capital cost optimization projects. Yes, it added some time, but it's the right thing to do before we go rolling out a whole bunch of additional assets. And we're seeing the benefits of that now, as you saw in the slides, even with the August results just preliminarily that we put in the slide deck. So just speaking to the end quarter and what we're seeing right now, that's a bit of a qualitative direction.

是的。因此，我認為這裡有一些廣泛的跡象，也預示著我們將到達年底，然後我們將在一月份召開年終電話會議。因此，我不想操之過急，但我會預測今年的業務前景。所以我不想超越我們自己。但我想說的只是高層次，然後也許黛比或蒂姆想要補充，我們在那裡闡明。我的意思是，顯然，從表面上看，坦白說，這種變化看起來相當劇烈。但實際上，正如黛比和我所言，相對於我們想要達到的目標，這實際上發生了大約 1 到 2 個季度的轉變。我們做出了艱難的決定來解決這些低資本成本優化項目。是的，這增加了一些時間，但在我們推出一大堆額外資產之前，這是正確的做法。正如您在幻燈片中看到的，我們現在看到了這樣做的好處，即使我們只是在幻燈片中初步公佈了八月份的結果。因此，僅就最後一個季度以及我們現在看到的情況而言，這是一個定性的方向。

Yes. And further to that, Brian, we don't expect it to impact the hub. I mean at the end of the day, what we're trying to do is get our stoke network optimized between now and when the hub starts up to make sure that we can generate the black mass that we need to generate. But we believe that we're still well on track for that.

是的。此外，布萊恩，我們預計它不會影響中心。我的意思是，歸根結底，我們要做的是，從現在到樞紐啟動時優化我們的斯托克網絡，以確保我們能夠生成我們需要生成的黑色品質。但我們相信，我們仍在朝著這個目標前進。

Yes. And then lastly, Brian, on Page 10, you'll see what we put out there vis-a-vis broad timing for the different assets in the slide.

是的。最後，布萊恩，在第 10 頁，您將看到我們在幻燈片中針對不同資產的大致時間表所列出的內容。

Yes. Excellent. And I guess, just to clarify, so it seems like your guidance is implying a 30%, 35% increase in black mass production in the fourth quarter from the third quarter sequentially. Could you just hit on the key items that are driving that increase?

是的。出色的。我想，只是為了澄清一下，所以看起來您的指導意味著第四季度黑色批量生產將比第三季度環比增加 30% 到 35%。您能否簡單談談推動這項成長的關鍵因素？

Yes. No worries. So the #1 driver of that is really the recognition of the Arizona spoke and it's starting to now hit its target throughput capabilities. And then there's a small influence there as well in relation to Alabama, starting up, which is imminent, and that will have an additional positive increase in terms of our run rate quarter-on-quarter for black mass production.

是的。不用擔心。因此，其中最重要的驅動力實際上是亞利桑那州輻條的認可度，並且它現在已經開始達到其目標吞吐量能力。然後，對於即將啟動的阿拉巴馬州來說，這也會產生一點影響，這將使我們的黑色批量生產運行率環比增長帶來額外的積極增長。

And do you expect the momentum of those facilities to continue into 2023 or through 2023?

您預計這些設施的發展勢頭會持續到 2023 年或整個 2023 年嗎？

Yes. So with Arizona, we're very close to our target throughput rate for Arizona. We expect to be able to continue to improve upon that and maintain it. And then ultimately, it's about the ramp-up of Alabama. But given the lessons learned from Arizona, we are anticipating that that facility will ramp up well.

是的。因此，對於亞利桑那州來說，我們已經非常接近亞利桑那州的目標吞吐率。我們希望能夠繼續改進並保持這一點。最終，這是關於阿拉巴馬州的崛起。但考慮到從亞利桑那州學到的教訓，我們預計該設施將會順利發展。

Great. And as you're thinking about projects in Europe, would you expect in those facilities to open with higher utilization rates than the U.S. facilities given the greater adoption in Europe? Or do you think it should be similar in terms of modeling those facilities?

偉大的。當您考慮歐洲的專案時，考慮到歐洲的採用率會更高，您是否預期這些設施的利用率會高於美國設施？或者您認為在對這些設施進行建模方面應該類似嗎？

Yes. So we expect that the throughput rates of these new plants like Arizona, Alabama, Germany and Norway to all have very similar utilization. And that is something Arizona as an early indicator is doing very well. In that regard, we are seeing strong demand in Europe from a commercial perspective. And so we expect that trend will continue as well.

是的。因此，我們預期亞利桑那州、阿拉巴馬州、德國和挪威等新工廠的生產力利用率都將非常相似。亞利桑那州在這方面的早期表現非常好。在這方面，我們從商業角度看到歐洲對此有強勁的需求。因此我們預計這一趨勢還會持續下去。

Yes. Excellent. And just as a final question. related to the Inflation Reduction Act, do you have any color on the timing of when the federal government might make those funds available?

是的。出色的。最後一個問題。與《通貨膨脹削減法案》相關的問題，您是否了解聯邦政府何時可能提供這些資金？

Yes. Broadly speaking, Brian, it's okay. A lot of those programs are really 2023 onwards. So I think they've gone through the enactment and that's really getting through the operationalizing of those programs and both of them are really 2023 onwards.

是的。從廣義上講，布萊恩，沒問題。許多此類計畫實際上都是在 2023 年以後實施的。所以我認為他們已經通過了立法，這確實使這些計劃得以實施，而且這兩個計劃實際上都將在 2023 年以後實施。

Great, thank you for the additional color. Very helpful.

太好了，謝謝你添加的顏色。非常有幫助。

Our next question will come from P.J. Juvekar with Citi. Your line is now open.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 P.J. Juvekar。您的線路現已開通。

Yes, good morning. The black mass production decreases seen is drastic like you said, but you just delayed by 1 to 2 quarters. You mentioned optimization of the Arizona hub, what kind of process improvements did you do there? Does that lower your cost? Or is it just like debottlenecking? And are you seeing all those benefits in your current production?

是的，早安。正如您所說，黑色批量生產下降幅度非常大，但您只是將其推遲了 1 到 2 個季度。您提到了亞利桑那樞紐的最佳化，您在那裡做了哪些流程改善？這是否降低了你的成本？或者它就像是消除瓶頸？您在目前的生產中看到了所有這些好處嗎？

implications, we don't see any negative implication in terms of the cost of these plants from these changes. I would say that one of the benefits of our overall business model is the carbon copy nature of our spoke plants. So the lessons that we've learned here, we can roll out into that standard design and optimize those facilities going forward. So overall, we think it was definitely time well spent. We learned a lot. We're happy with the progress that we've now made and looking forward to continue to roll out these future sites.

影響，我們並沒有看到這些變化對這些工廠的成本產生任何負面影響。我想說，我們整體商業模式的優勢之一就是我們的輻射工廠的複製性質。因此，我們可以將在這裡學到的經驗教訓運用到標準設計中，並在未來優化這些設施。所以總的來說，我們認為這絕對是值得的。我們學到了很多。我們對目前的進展感到滿意，並期待繼續推出這些未來的網站。

And do you have any approximate timing on future sites. You mentioned Alabama start by end of 4Q. Anything on the Ohio side as well as Norway and Germany.

您對未來的站點有什麼大致的時間安排嗎？您提到阿拉巴馬隊將在第四季末開始比賽。俄亥俄州以及挪威和德國的任何地方。

Yes, absolutely. So most of the aspects that we were dealing with in Arizona were around materials handling. And so you can think of things like shoots, for example, just making sure that we can get the material to flow through at the rate that we needed. That's all now being addressed and incorporated into our standard design. In terms of the long-term Yes, PJ. I think Page 10 is a good broad timing there. And also in the early next year and the outlook for the year, we'll see what else we add to that potentially. But that's really a bit of a pipeline of our build-out.

是的，絕對是。因此，我們在亞利桑那州處理的大部分問題都與材料處理有關。因此，您可以考慮諸如拍攝之類的事情，只需確保我們能夠以所需的速率流過材料即可。現在我們正在解決這些問題並將其納入我們的標準設計中。從長遠來看，是的，PJ。我認為第 10 頁是一個很好的時機。此外，在明年年初和今年的展望中，我們將看看還有什麼可能增加這一點。但這其實是我們擴建的一條管道。

Okay. And then lastly, you mentioned potential loans through the DOE. But besides that, you mentioned the sort of locally sourced clean vehicle program and credits associated with that. How does battery recycling fit into that, which I'm sure is a critical part by end of the decade that you need recycling? And how do you benefit from that particular program?

好的。最後，您提到了透過能源部提供的潛在貸款。但除此之外，您還提到了本地採購的清潔汽車計劃以及與此相關的信貸。電池回收與此有何關係？我確信，到本世紀末，電池回收將成為需要回收的關鍵部分。您從該特定計劃中獲得了什麼益處？

Yes, good question, PJ. Just to clarify. So it's an indirect benefit for us. So that's, of course, for the purchase of EVs. But to get that credit, there are a range of increasing domestically supply content requirements. So starting at about 40% and growing to much more than that in the years thereafter. So the whole question is how does somebody meet that requirement with domestic supply? Where is it going to come from, especially with, as you know, the very long lead for domestic mining. So what we've seen from a demand pull perspective is even more accelerated entrance from automakers, cell makers, trying to see how they can meet these requirements. And recycling is a much quicker pathway to get that supply, and hence, we can help them meet those requirements to the make sure their vehicles are eligible for as much as possible.

是的，PJ，問得好。只是為了澄清一下。所以這對我們來說是一種間接的好處。當然，這是用於購買電動車。但要獲得這項信譽，就必須提高國內供應內容的要求。因此，從大約 40% 開始，並在隨後的幾年中成長到遠高於這個數字。所以整個問題是，人們如何透過國內供應來滿足這項要求？它將來自哪裡，特別是如你所知，國內採礦的領先優勢非常大。因此，從需求拉動的角度來看，我們看到汽車製造商、電池製造商正在加速進入該領域，試圖找到滿足這些要求的方法。回收是獲得這種供應的更快捷途徑，因此，我們可以幫助他們滿足這些要求，以確保他們的車輛盡可能符合資格。

Once again, if you would like to ask a question, that is Star on your phone. Our next question will come from Jeff Osborne with Cowen and Company. Your line is now open.

再說一次，如果你想問一個問題，那就是你手機上的 Star。我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen and Company 的 Jeff Osborne。您的線路現已開通。

Just a few questions on my end. On the optimization, it was helpful to appreciate that it was more material handling and low CapEx. Is there a way of quantifying what the improvement in yields would be on black mass recovery, especially relative to the spec merger tech?

我只想問幾個問題。在最佳化方面，認識到更多的材料處理和較低的資本支出是有幫助的。有沒有辦法量化黑體回收的產量提高多少，特別是相對於規格合併技術而言？

Yes. So I mean, we don't provide specific guidance in terms of yield improvement. But notably, we've noticed the remarkable improvement in terms of overall recoveries through the new generation plant. But I can't provide specific details.

是的。所以我的意思是，我們沒有提供關於提高產量的具體指引。但值得注意的是，我們注意到透過新一代工廠，整體回收率有了顯著提高。但我無法提供具體細節。

Yes. And just to add to that, Jeff, and I know where you're going. But just as a broader comment, when Tim has answered the previous question regarding thoughput, people might say, "Hey, these are 10K, you have 50K. So like what's the big difference? I'll focus my words, but I just want to emphasize it. So we've upped the form factor that we're actually processing. So we're taking in full packs as opposed to the modules, which are like the building blocks of the pack. That's very advantagous for us as automakers move towards bigger and bigger packs and sell to pack architecture, no dismantling, but it also then does change, obviously, what the clients are doing, right? So we have multi-stage shredding, a little bit different, same core technology, but a little bit different in the few areas, so that is really what we were working through. It's nothing major. But now with that under our belt, it's great for us because as Tim said, it's our carbon copy approach for the future plans.

是的。另外，傑夫，我知道你要去哪裡。但更廣泛地說，當Tim回答之前關於吞吐量的問題時，人們可能會說：「嘿，這些是10K，而你們有50K。那麼最大的區別是什麼？」我會集中討論，但我只想強調一下。我們提升了實際處理的電池組尺寸。所以我們處理的是整組電池組，而不是像電池組構建塊那樣的模組。這對我們來說非常有利，因為汽車製造商正在轉向越來越大的電池組，並按電池組架構銷售，無需拆解。但這顯然也會改變客戶的做法，對吧？我們採用多層粉碎技術，雖然核心技術略有不同，但在某些方面略有不同，所以這正是我們一直在努力的方向。這沒什麼大不了的。但現在有了這些經驗，對我們來說非常棒，因為正如Tim所說，這是我們未來計劃的複製方法。

And do you anticipate rolling that out in Rochester as well? Or any battery-related recalls or requirement for full form factor would have to be done in Ohio, Arizona or Alabama.

您是否也計劃在羅徹斯特推出這項服務？或任何與電池相關的召回或全尺寸要求都必須在俄亥俄州、亞利桑那州或阿拉巴馬州進行。

Yes. So in Rochester, we do plan on doing an upgrade to the front end of the plant. It's a nominal capital investment, but it will give us enhanced capabilities to take larger form factor materials through the plants as well as improve overall recoveries and yield. All future plants, at this point in time, all these what we would considered new generation full pack plants. So when you look at our forecast for new facilities, they are all based on that full package plan.

是的。因此，在羅徹斯特，我們確實計劃對工廠的前端進行升級。這是一項名義上的資本投資，但它將增強我們透過工廠處理更大尺寸材料的能力，並提高整體回收率和產量。所有未來的工廠，在現階段，所有這些都是我們認為的新一代全套工廠。因此，當您查看我們對新設施的預測時，它們都是基於該全套計劃的。

Tim, given that it will be 1 of 3 operational plants in the spring of 23 in the U.S., if you're doing it in the first half of the year, should we assume some downtime for that?

提姆，考慮到它將成為 23 年春季美國 3 家營運工廠中的 1 家，如果您在上半年進行這項業務，我們是否應該假設會有一些停機時間？

It's normal. What we're doing collectively with our partners in Rochester is we're actually doing the construction and assembly of the equipment alongside the existing operating plant, and then we'll be basically doing a hot change, which will have a very, very small impact in terms of the quarter from a downtime perspective as we swap over some of the key pieces of the plant.

這很正常。我們與羅徹斯特的合作夥伴共同進行的工作實際上是在現有營運工廠旁邊建造和組裝設備，然後我們將進行基本上是熱更換，從停機時間的角度來看，這將對季度產生非常小的影響，因為我們會更換工廠的一些關鍵部件。

Got it. That is very helpful and the slides are very helpful. So I appreciate the transparency on the process steps and the commissioning timeline. I just wanted to reconcile 2 comments you made. One, I think it was building 100 in the map would be operational in the spring of 23, which was the receiving for the black mass and then the commissioning and the introduction of the black mass would be in late '23 through early '24. I'd imagine at some point in time, you're going to have to start building inventory and you wouldn't have black mass sales and any revenue would be tied to non-battery metals or plastics or maybe recall fees that are paid to disassemble recall batteries. How do we think about the timing, especially with the warehouse opening up in the spring? Do you need to build 3 to 4 quarters of inventory to sort of feed the beast? Or how do we think about that as you, I would imagine, slowly introduce bypass as you commission the first 2 steps and move to Phase III as you articulated.

知道了。這非常有幫助，幻燈片也非常有用。因此，我很欣賞流程步驟和調試時間表的透明度。我只是想調和一下你提出的兩則評論。首先，我認為地圖上的 100 號建築將於 23 年春季投入運營，用於接收黑色物質，然後黑色物質的調試和引入將在 23 年末到 24 年初進行。我想在某個時間點，你將不得不開始建立庫存，你不會有黑色大規模銷售，任何收入都將與非電池金屬或塑膠掛鉤，或者可能是支付拆卸召回電池的召回費用。我們如何考慮時機，尤其是倉庫在春季開放？您是否需要建立 3 到 4 個季度的庫存來滿足這項需求？或者，我想，當您啟動前兩個步驟並進入您所闡述的第三階段時，我們會如何看待這個問題？

Yes. As you rightly point out, we'll have our warehouse complete in the spring of next year, ready to receive Black mass. I'll let Debbie provide some commentary in terms of our current disclosure around where we might stand on inventory building.

是的。正如您正確指出的那樣，我們的倉庫將於明年春季完工，準備接收黑彌撒。我會讓黛比就我們目前披露的有關庫存建設的立場提供一些評論。

Jeff, I love your terminology, 'feed the beast'. So I would start by saying, we haven't made any commitments yet to a definitive plan on building inventory. I think there's a couple of things that are worth noting though. It would be smart for us to have some inventory on hand as we go through the start up, and we will certainly put a plan around that. As we go through our planning for next year, it's definitely something that's on our list to work through. So that would be a smart move on our part. When the facilities, we mentioned earlier, our job is our spokes right now, the delay may seem a little bit drastic, but really think of this as a lead time in terms of getting our spokes ready to be producing for our hub. And so if you think of that pretty much in the end, a continuous operation where we won't need a lot of inventory on hand, materials will feed to our spokes and they'll go directly to our hub. But in that interim period, while we go through startup, it would be wise for us to have some material on hand. And then the last part is really just I keep reminding everybody at this, selling black mass is not our business. And actually, it's not the most economic use of the material either. So to the extent that we can shift sooner versus later on extracting lithium from these materials is a far better economic story for us. So that sits in the background. It's a little bit of economic pressure to get to the end and to have black mass available for that in formula versus intermediate sales.

傑夫，我喜歡你的術語“餵養野獸”。因此，我首先要說的是，我們尚未對建立庫存的最終計劃做出任何承諾。我認為有幾件事值得注意。在啟動過程中，我們最好手頭上有一些庫存，我們肯定會圍繞這一點制定計劃。當我們制定明年的計劃時，這絕對是我們要解決的事情之一。所以這對我們來說是一個明智之舉。當我們之前提到的設施時，我們的工作現在是我們的輻條，延遲可能看起來有點劇烈，但實際上認為這是讓我們的輻條準備好為我們的輪轂生產的準備時間。因此，如果您考慮到最後的情況，那麼在連續操作中我們不需要大量的庫存，材料將輸送到我們的輻條，然後直接進入我們的樞紐。但在我們創業的過渡時期，手上最好有一些材料。最後一點，我只是想不斷提醒大家，販賣黑彌撒不是我們的事。事實上，這也不是材料最經濟的用途。因此，如果我們能夠儘早從這些材料中提取鋰，那麼對我們來說將是一個更好的經濟效益。所以這就處於背景中。最終，在配方中而不是中間銷售中提供黑色物質會帶來一些經濟壓力。

Excellent, Debbie. Just a very quick follow-up on the last comment there. Leaving lithium on the table, would you say you're leaving $0.50 on the dollar, if not more, per kilogram or a ton of black mass that's sold? Or how do we think about quantifying the economic dilemma that you are in.

太棒了，黛比。這只是對最後一條評論的快速跟進。如果不考慮鋰，您是否會說，每公斤或每噸售出的黑色物質的價值為 0.50 美元，甚至更多？或者我們如何考慮量化您所處的經濟困境。

Yes, good question. It moved all around, rightly, with pricing, so you have to take your views on that. Yes, for sure. I mean, this is really the core essence and sometimes I think is missed about our story that our Rochester Hub will be producing between 7,500 and 8,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate. And if you take today's prices, that's a substantial amount of economic substance for the company. So on a per ton basis, it moves around, but your math, I would say is directionally right. And it's pretty interesting because 4 or 5 years ago and even a year ago, you would had heard say, like it's 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, roughly equal contribution. And often, we would be told, 'hey, like why are you even focusing on lithium?' like 6 years ago. But this is the core of it. And the bottom line is that market is severely in deficit of supply versus increasing demand. So we are a near-term, relatively, versus mining solution for that, and it's super important from a financial perspective for the value of the company in the future and how that partly is true to the present.

是的，好問題。它的定價隨處可見，這是正確的，所以你必須對此發表自己的看法。是的，當然。我的意思是，這確實是核心本質，有時我認為我們的故事忽略了這一點，即我們的羅徹斯特中心將生產 7,500 至 8,500 噸碳酸鋰。如果以今天的價格來算，這對公司來說是一筆相當大的經濟實質。因此，以每噸計算，它會四處移動，但我認為你的計算在方向上是正確的。這很有趣，因為四、五年前，甚至一年前，你會聽到這樣的說法，像是 1/3、1/3、1/3，大致相等的貢獻。我們常常被告知，『嘿，你為什麼要關注鋰？ ’就像6年前一樣。但這是它的核心。根本問題是，市場供應嚴重不足，而需求卻不斷成長。因此，相對於採礦解決方案，我們是一個短期解決方案，從財務角度來看，這對於公司未來的價值以及如何在一定程度上符合現在的情況至關重要。

Our next question will come from Robin Fiedler with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Robin Fiedler。您的線路現已開通。

Just maybe curious to have a high-level discussion on how you're thinking about the Hub 2. I know your hands are full with Hub 1 right now. But with the IRA bill, how much of that influence where you thinking about the second hub location? Would there be enough feedstock, let's say, midterm feedstock for you to justify like a hub to location in North America to receive these OpEx and CapEx benefits that you could receive from the IRA bill? Or maybe some of your partnership obligations are still going to make you focus on Europe for maybe Hub 2 or would you ever, and this might be getting greedy, but would you ever consider sort of a parallel expansion for 2 and 3 kind of on the same time? I'm just trying to get a sense of how you think about that as the policy changes are occurring kind of in real time?

只是好奇想就您對 Hub 2 的看法進行一次高層次的討論。我知道您現在正忙於 Hub 1。但是，對於 IRA 法案，您對第二個樞紐位置的考慮有多大影響？是否有足夠的原料，比如說中期原料，讓您證明像在北美設立一個樞紐來獲得您可以從 IRA 法案中獲得的這些運營支出和資本支出收益？或者也許您的一些合作義務仍然會讓您將重點放在歐洲，也許是 Hub 2，或者您是否會這樣做，這可能有點貪心，但您是否會考慮同時對 2 和 3 進行並行擴展？我只是想了解一下，由於政策變化是即時發生的，您對此有何看法？

Yes. Great question, Robin. Also I'll keep it to what we can say. I would say, look, I mean, the IRA is super fitting, I think it's a great step in the right direction, long time coming. So it's good to see. Same time in Europe, we see tremendous tailwinds for our business, similarly commercially, similarly from a regulatory perspective. So we'll assess all options. And as we said before, there are longer lead low dollar, really just time-oriented activities that we can progress vis-a-vis site selection, be it permitting, once it is ready, et cetera. So we'll continue down that track. Look forward to be able to give an update on that when we can. But I would say we don't see really necessarily an overkill either way. I would say it's interesting. It's probably pretty equal. So we'll have some interesting decisions ahead of us.

是的。好問題，羅賓。我也會保留我們能說的內容。我想說，看，我的意思是，愛爾蘭共和軍非常合適，我認為這是朝著正確方向邁出的一大步，期待已久。很高興看到這一點。同時，在歐洲，我們看到我們的業務面臨著巨大的順風，無論是從商業角度還是從監管角度來看都是如此。因此我們將評估所有選項。正如我們之前所說，我們可以在選址方面開展更長遠的低成本、真正以時間為導向的活動，只要準備就緒，就可以獲得許可，等等。因此我們將繼續沿著這條路走下去。希望我們能夠盡快提供最新消息。但我想說，無論哪種方式，我們都不一定會看到過度殺傷。我想說這很有趣。可能相當平等。因此我們面前將面臨一些有趣的決定。

It appears there's no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Ajay for his closing remarks.

目前似乎沒有其他問題。現在我想將電話轉回給阿傑，請他做最後發言。

Thank you. So in closing, we continue to execute on our spoken hub network growth objectives and strengthen our position as a long-term preferred recycling and resource recovery partner to global strategic participants in the battery supply chain. We have sufficient liquidity for our capital and operating needs to fund the current pipeline of projects in development, and we are evaluating ways to further optimize our capital structure to support future growth. Finally, our integrated spoke and hub network is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the accelerating electrification trends as well as favorable tailwinds from increasing government policy support to translate into significant earnings and cash flow. Thank you. We appreciate your time and interest in Li-Ccle. We look forward to continuing to update you regarding our ongoing data load and execution.

謝謝。最後，我們將繼續執行我們的口頭樞紐網路成長目標，並加強我們作為電池供應鏈全球策略參與者的長期首選回收和資源回收合作夥伴的地位。我們擁有足夠的流動資金來滿足我們的資本和營運需求，為目前正在開發的項目提供資金，我們正在評估進一步優化資本結構以支持未來成長的方法。最後，我們的綜合輻射和樞紐網絡具有獨特的優勢，可以利用加速的電氣化趨勢以及政府政策支持增加帶來的有利順風，轉化為可觀的收益和現金流。謝謝。我們感謝您對 Li-Ccle 所付出的時間和關注。我們期待繼續向您通報我們正在進行的資料載入和執行情況。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's event. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的活動到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。