(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，今天我將成為您的會議接線員。在這個時候，我想歡迎大家參加 Li-Cycle Holdings 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議和網絡直播。所有線路都已靜音，以防止任何背景噪音。講者致辭後，將進行問答環節。如果您當時想問問題，請按電話鍵盤上的星號 1。如果您需要操作員幫助，請按星號 0，謝謝。我現在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.

早上好，感謝大家今天加入我們，參與 Li-Cycle 對截至 7 月 31 日的 2022 年第三季度業績的審查。今天，我們將從聯合創始人、總裁兼首席執行官 Ajay Kochhar 的正式講話開始； Tim Johnston，聯合創始人兼執行主席；和首席財務官黛比辛普森。然後，我們將進行問答環節。在此次電話會議之前，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.

在這次電話會議上，管理層將根據當前的預期、計劃、估計和假設發表聲明，這些預期、計劃、估計和假設受到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，包括由於今天的新聞稿、本次電話會議以及我們過去向美國證券交易委員會和美國證券交易委員會和加拿大安大略證券委員會。這些文件可在我們的網站investors.li-cycle.com 上找到。我們不承擔任何義務更新在本次電話會議期間或不時做出的任何前瞻性陳述，無論是書面的還是口頭的，以反映新信息、未來事件或其他情況，除非需要。有了這個，我很高興把電話轉給黛比。

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，Nahla，大家早上好。正如我們將在今天的電話會議上討論的那樣，我們對擺在我們面前的機會感到非常興奮。我仍然專注於我們集成的 Spoke 和 Hub 網絡的執行和推出。我們繼續在將 Li-Cycle 定位為鋰離子電池材料的長期首選回收合作夥伴和供應商方面取得有意義的進展，特別是在北美和歐洲，與亞洲有著強大的商業聯繫。從一些近期更新開始，我們很高興地報告我們的 Rochester Hub 項目仍在按計劃進行。我們的歐洲輻條項目繼續推進，我們在亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州的新輻條正受益於我們最近的優化項目。關於我們的中長期戰略重點，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本地化供應。

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方面保持了先發優勢，這得益於商業合同和與伍斯特中心的戰略合作夥伴關係，這是未來的關鍵價值驅動因素。我們有足夠的資金來完成我們目前的項目管道，並有可能從傳統和政府來源獲得債務融資，以支持未來的增長。

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，有四分之一的亮點，Ajay、Tim 和我稍後會更詳細地介紹。在財務方面，截至本季度末，我們手頭現金約為 6.5 億美元，其中包括來自 LG 和嘉能可的 2.5 億美元投資收益，為我們當前的項目管道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包括電池製造商和原始設備製造商在內的整個供應鏈的不同客戶那裡擴大電池材料的來源。 2 最近的例子：Li-Cycle 被選為北美最大的儲能退役項目之一。我們在 7 月份完成了一個兩階段的退役項目，該項目涉及 1,400 多噸電池材料，開始使用可再生能源。此外，一家在北美設有製造工廠的新興電動汽車 OEM 將 Li-Cycle 命名為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.

在運營層面，我們完成了亞利桑那州輻條的優化項目，我們 8 月和 9 月的運行率現在正在跟踪目標吞吐量，阿拉巴馬州的人們預計將在第四季度末開始運營。我們的羅切斯特樞紐仍有望在 2023 年分階段開始調試。

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，我將對我們的財務業績進行更詳細的討論，特別是關於黑色批量生產、收入、調整後的 EBITDA 和現金流量。從幻燈片 4 開始進行 Black 批量生產。隨著我們新的亞利桑那輻條的啟動，我們繼續產生更高的產品銷量。本季度黑色量產 961 噸，比去年同期增長 80% 以上，比第二季度增長 30% 以上，這主要是受亞利桑那州輻條啟動的推動。雖然我們第三季度的產量反映了相對於我們上半年運行率的有利進展，但 Black 大規模生產更多地符合我們的原始目標，因為我們在亞利桑那州進行了一些臨時停機以完成優化項目。此外，我們特意安排了阿拉巴馬州輻條的啟動速度，以實施相同的流程改進。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.

由於這些行動，我們比最初的生產目標落後了大約 1 到 2 個季度。我們正在將 2022 年完整的黑色量產指南從 6,500 噸更新至 7,500 噸。我們很高興地報告，自從在亞利桑那州成功完成優化項目以來，我們 8 月和 9 月的運行率現在正在接近目標吞吐量。

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.

轉到幻燈片 5 討論收入。作為背景，並提醒我們在上次財報電話會議上的討論，根據我們的合同和 IFRS 報告要求，我們根據產品銷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.我們的客戶拿走大量材料，我們保留定價風險，直到相關應收款項全部結清。因此，堅定的市場價值調整有利於收入。

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.

再次與金屬價格確認，特別是鎳和鈷增加，當金屬價格下降時確認損失。另外要補充的是，由於市場上缺乏可用的黑色物質精煉能力，我們目前在黑色物質領域中的鈷和鎳而不是鋰獲得報酬。提醒一下，一旦我們的羅切斯特中心投入運營，我們的競爭優勢之一將是我們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的收入為 540 萬美元，高於 2021 年第三季度的 130 萬美元。總收入為負 200 萬美元，而去年同期為正 170 萬美元。總收入下降的主要原因是今年第三季度非現金公平市值調整為 730 萬美元，而去年同期公平市值增長為 400,000 美元。這是本季度鎳和鈷價格分別下跌 32% 和 37% 的直接結果，這影響了與先前預覽的黑色批量銷售相關的大約 3,200 噸未結算的噸位。如此處所示，這種負的公允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允市場價值收益。

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.

該年度的累計公平市值調整為負 160 萬美元。三個季度的總收入為 1050 萬美元，而去年同期為 300 萬美元。隨著鎳和鈷價格的持續變化，我們預計收入的公平市場價值會進一步調整，並有可能增加或減少。

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.

在這裡最重要的一點是，在第三季度，剔除公平市場價值調整後，我們的產品銷售和回收服務收入比去年同期增長了四倍，這表明我們業務的潛在增長為我們繼續擴大我們的網絡。

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.

轉向幻燈片 6 調整後的 EBITDA，同比和環比均增長。與去年相比，調整後的 EBITDA 損失約為 3160 萬美元，而去年為 530 萬美元。這反映了北美和歐洲業務持續擴張的運營費用增加。具體來說，這些主要與運營、企業、商業和（音頻不清晰）資源的更高員工薪酬有關，我們將繼續支持我們網絡的擴展，特別是羅切斯特樞紐。

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.

考慮到我們於 2021 年 8 月上市的時間，與成為上市公司相關的成本，由於我們的輻條業務減少了黑色質量，原材料和供應增加。我還要指出，本季度包括 400 萬美元的非現金股票補償，而去年同期為 300,000 美元，本季度非現金公平市場價值定價損失為 730 萬美元，而上一季度則增加了 40 美元。年。與上一季度相比，調整後的 EBITDA 主要受到非現金公允市場價值的影響。

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.

轉到幻燈片 7，查看我們的資產負債表和流動性的實力。 Li-Cycle 在第三季度結束時手頭有大約 6.5 億美元的現金。正如之前披露的那樣，我們在本季度增強了我們的資產負債表，從 LG 和嘉能可獲得的合併支出收益為 2.5 億美元。這種強勁的資產負債表狀況預計將為資本和運營需求提供足夠的流動性，為我們目前的項目和開發管道提供資金。

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 8200 萬美元的資本支出，其中大部分投資分配給安全設備，用於繼續建設我們的羅切斯特樞紐，以及設備支出和北美和歐洲輻條的租賃改進。由於我們的大部分採購需求現在已經得到滿足，我們預計我們未來的大部分資本支出將集中在繼續建設我們的羅切斯特樞紐的建設上。

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.

我們預計在明年初提供 2023 年的初始資本支出展望。我們將繼續致力於平衡運營支出和投資於企業基礎設施，這將支持我們不斷擴大的網絡，從而在未來幾年推動顯著的經濟增長。

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，我們將繼續從傳統和政府來源探索額外的債務融資機會，以優化我們的專屬結構並提供靈活性。這旨在實現額外的增長，以滿足當前管道之外的重要客戶需求。現在我將把事情交給 Ajay。

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更新。轉到幻燈片 8。我們繼續看到電池供應鏈中先行者的有利趨勢，供需動態緊張，這些趨勢強調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。我們在重點地區可回收的鋰離子電池的總潛在市場或 10 個是由電池製造商大型工廠投資增加推動的，預計到 2025 年將比當前水平增長 16 倍以上。因此，預計到 2025 年，這將推動北美和歐洲可回收鋰離子電池的 TAM 綜合增長，比當前水平增長 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，隨著我們擴大網絡容量，我們繼續看到這使 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.

轉到幻燈片 9。我們繼續看到美國一些新的公共政策計劃帶來了有利的推動力，這些計劃旨在提供財政支持以促進電池供應基礎設施的國內擴張，例如使其成為一個關鍵的戰略產業。從 2023 年開始，最近頒布的《降低通脹法案》或 IRA 應為電動汽車電池循環行業帶來重大利益。IRA 緊隨兩黨基礎設施法之後，該法要求整個電池行業供應鏈撥款 60 億美元.此外，總統決定投資 5 億美元，以支持電池生產的關鍵材料。我們認為 IRA 將回收視為國內電池材料供應的加速器，以支持對電動汽車和能源存儲不斷增長的需求。這些計劃將降低建造新設施以生產國內關鍵材料的成本，並有助於降低電池的製造成本。我們在此重點強調 IRA 對回收行業和我們的業務的廣泛好處，即向 DOE 貸款計劃辦公室或 LTO 提供高達 2500 億美元的清潔能源貸款，高達 600 億美元的 5 年生產稅收抵免，提供 10%生產關鍵材料的成本，包括鋰、鈷和鎳。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，愛爾蘭共和軍正在推動使用來自美國或自由貿易協定國家的材料製造電動汽車電池。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，才有資格獲得清潔車輛稅收抵免，到 2027 年這一比例將增加到 80%。我們相信這推動了國內採購的關鍵電池級材料將激勵汽車製造商採用更高比例的回收材料。這就是為什麼成為環境可持續技術的先行者至關重要的原因。我們的專利技術在北美市場被證明是回收鋰離子電池的領先方式。我們有兩個關鍵優勢。一，Lifecycle 有機會探索這些政府資助機會，以潛在地使我們的口語中心網絡增長受益；第二，我們有能力幫助汽車製造商通過回收材料滿足其對國內成分的生產要求，從而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.

轉到幻燈片 10。在這裡，我們描述了北美和歐洲當前的 Spoke 和 Hub 項目組合，這些項目預計將在 2022 年和 2023 年上線。我們將更詳細地回顧這些。

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.

轉到幻燈片 11。正如我們在之前的財報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，確保可持續的原料用於回收電池材料的攝入是很重要的。在這裡，我們展示了我們的輻條網絡的競爭優勢，使 Li-Cycle 成為電池供應鏈參與者的領先回收戰略合作夥伴。

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，我們與電池和外形尺寸無關，能夠在不拆卸的情況下處理整個電動汽車和儲能電池組。這為 Li-Cycle 提供了進一步的優勢，因為 EV 電池組繼續變得更大，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。因此，我們的全包處理能力已在我們的亞利桑那輻條中得到驗證，並在隨後的輻條（例如我們的阿拉巴馬輻條）中實施，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，我們還在處理越來越高效、環境可持續的足跡，同時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入量以通過回收過濾，我們正在關注我們的輻條發布的電池和汽車製造商以及舊電動汽車的滲透率，從而最大限度地降低運輸風險和成本。重申一下，我們正在定位輻條網絡，以捕捉不斷增長的製造廢料量，為運營提供強大的基礎材料負荷。補充這一點將是報廢電池的數量，在未來幾十年內將繼續穩步上升。

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.

轉到幻燈片 12，了解我們歐洲擴張的最新情況。與我們在北美的戰略類似，我們的戰略目標是靠近電池和電動汽車製造商以及電動汽車普及率的輻條位置。我們預計這種輻條產能將很容易被強勁的歐洲需求所吸收。尤其是電動汽車相關的電池供應和儲能係統，因為該地區對可再生能源的看法很高，這導致了更多的商業合作夥伴關係。我們已經獲得了戰略地點，並與當地的工業合作夥伴開始了設備製造。在挪威，我們的站點擁有便利的物流網絡。此外，該站點將通過可持續資源滿足其大部分能源需求，使我們的業務成為歐洲有吸引力的商業合作夥伴。在德國，我們的工廠靠近各種電池、電池和電動汽車製造設施，並且還可以使用可再生能源。與亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州的發言人類似，我們正在分階段啟動這些設施，德國計劃首先上線，隨後是挪威。我們預計兩個歐洲輻條將在 2023 財年下半年投入生產。這是從上半年的適度轉變，需要更多的調試和啟動時間，因為我們將繼續實施最佳運營北美各州的實踐和經驗。

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.

轉到幻燈片 13，了解我們新的北美輻條的更新，即亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州。正如 Debbie 之前討論的那樣，在第三季度，我們採取了慎重的措施來優化這些輻條設施的運營，這是他們第一次在不擴展的情況下處理整個 EV 和固定式儲能電池組。為了進行這些改進，我們在亞利桑那州的運營節奏暫時受到影響，我們適度推遲了阿拉巴馬州輻條的啟動，這是亞利桑那州輻條的複製品。自從完成這些低資本成本優化項目以來，Arizona 輪輻現在成功地提高到接近目標產量，並且與我們在安大略省和紐約的第一代工廠相比，黑色物質的回收率更高。

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.

我們正在利用來自亞利桑那州輻條的關鍵知識和流程改進，用於阿拉巴馬州輻條和歐洲輻條的相關地點。最後，我們繼續與 LTM 合作開發俄亥俄輻條，並評估最佳執行路徑。現在我將把它交給蒂姆，以提供我們羅切斯特健康的最新情況。

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。我將概述和更新羅切斯特中心，該中心有望成為北美第一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，了解羅切斯特輪轂的關鍵屬性。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 輛電動汽車的電池材料。我們戰略性地選擇了羅切斯特伊士曼商業園作為我們樞紐的位置，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最大程度地減少空氣排放，並採用 0 液體排放技術，在現場收集和處理液體流。這一過程為關鍵材料提供了一條可持續的途徑，並為循環經濟做出了貢獻。事實證明，這對於獲得建造羅切斯特樞紐的關鍵環境許可是一個優勢。

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.

轉到幻燈片 15。簡單地退後一步，我想討論一下我們的試點工廠，它支撐著羅切斯特輪轂商業化的設計。我們在安大略省金斯敦的一個大型試驗工廠證明了我們中心的流程，該工廠運行了 1 年多，主要是在 2019 年至 2020 年之間。我們使用已知設備和經過驗證的化學加工技術測試了我們的流程圖。單個單元操作的規模超過了試點此類設備的行業標準，使我們對擴大規模的能力更有信心。最後，我們與全球電池供應鏈中的主要客戶一起對最終產品進行了測試和認證，其中許多客戶是我們今天的合作夥伴。

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.

轉到幻燈片 16。您將看到羅切斯特樞紐的佈局。建築物的數量是指不同的加工區域。從 100 區開始。在這裡，我們從倉庫收到了一噸袋黑色物質。黑色物質被卸載到浸出罐中，浸出罐用於將金屬溶解在水和酸中，引導到石墨後面，然後將其乾燥並包裝好運輸。含有金屬的液體溶液稱為富浸出溶液或 PLS。向前推進，PLS 解決方案隨後在區域 200 和 300 中對銅、鋁和鐵等元素進行 2 個除雜階段。除雜後，POS 進入工廠中心，區域 400 中的 3 個溶劑萃取迴路， 500 和 600 用於在這些產品的結晶、乾燥和包裝之前選擇性地回收錳、鈷和鎳。 PLS 溶液現在主要含有鈉和鋰。在 800 區，鈉在碳酸鋰生產之前通過結晶回收。

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.

羅切斯特有 2 個鋰生產階段，如 900 區所示。首先，通過添加碳酸鈉生產粗碳酸鋰。在稱為碳酸氫鹽的第二步中去除雜質，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.

該過程的線性設計提供了靈活性，可以處理來自黑體的各種輸入，並由客戶控制產品質量。作為我們為電池級材料的環境可持續精煉設定標準的目標的一部分，該集線器還包括一個 0 液體排放迴路，該迴路將涵蓋微量和純度，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.

轉到幻燈片 17，了解輪轂結構的最新情況。回顧一下，迄今為止，我們的團隊已經取得了重要的里程碑。我們獲得了重點環境許可，使我們能夠繼續推進項目建設。我們完成了與 Hatch 的工程和採購以及與 MasTec Industrial 的施工管理的關鍵商業合同。並且，我們鎖定了大部分長鉛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，使我們的預計時間線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，並有望在 2023 年春季之前接收黑色物質。與黑色物質浸出相關的 100 區的建設已經推進，400、500 和 600 區正在開採中出售，混凝土地基正在進行接收我們的建築鋼材和地下公用事業的重大進展。雖然我們繼續監控紐約羅切斯特的供應鏈激光成本和季節性條件，但該中心仍有望在 2023 年分階段開始調試。

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.

轉到幻燈片 18。我想總結一下。基於強大的長期市場和支持關鍵電池材料本地化供應的政府政策，我們正在加速增長。在商業合同和戰略合作夥伴關係的支持下，我們將繼續在北美和歐洲率先推出我們的輻條和樞紐網絡，羅切斯特樞紐是一個關鍵的價值驅動因素。我們有足夠的流動性來為我們目前的項目管道和運營需求提供資金。此外，我們繼續評估多種資金來源，包括來自傳統和政府來源的債務融資替代方案，以支持我們當前項目管道之外的下一階段增長。我們的正式發言到此結束。接線員，我們準備回答問題。

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.

謝謝你。此時，如果您想提問，請在您的按鍵式電話上按星號 1。如果您想隨時將自己從隊列中移除，您可以按星號 2 這樣做。我們提醒您請拿起耳機以獲得最佳羽絨質量。謝謝你。我們的第一個問題將來自 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.

早上好。我的第一個問題是關於集線器調試指南。那麼9萬噸輪轂中只有一部分可以啟動嗎？然後也許你可以引導我們完成節奏時間以達到完整的運營率。

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

嘿，羅伯，早上好。我會把它交給蒂姆，他會在那裡提供一些顏色。

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.

早上好，羅賓。因此，當我們談論調試時，既然我們在整個項目上取得了進一步的進展，我們現在開始製定我們的詳細調試計劃。我們在這裡討論的是，有效的調試是在我們將稱為 3 個階段的過程中完成的。第一階段，到第三階段，從完成檢查開始，然後我們將在調試的最後階段之前進行聯盟測試，儀器校準工作，最終是對黑體的介紹。

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.

您將在幻燈片 17 上看到調試實際上與施工重疊。所以重要的是，當我們經歷工廠的啟動時，這不是那種你一次性打開所有東西的計劃。將調試與施工的順序聯繫起來實際上很重要，因為您希望有某些可用的電路，以便我們可以實際啟動並逐步通過工廠並在施工結束時進行這些檢查。這就是我們的意思。

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.

但是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，我們希望能夠以更多的色彩來告訴你我們在這些不同階段的進展情況，以及我們在做什麼。我們希望儘早在術語方面建立框架。

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。也許只是一個後續。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。但就階段委員會的措辭而言。我只是想確定一下，這並不意味著將分階段引入 90,000 噸，以及僅從數量或外部角度來看？我只是想澄清一下，那個階段的調試，一旦你完成了，之後就是90,000噸的運行速度。那是對的嗎？

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。所以我不確定你的想法是什麼，每年 35,000 噸的黑色物質。所以是的，每年有 35,000 噸的質量。所以階段，只是為了更詳細地分解它，階段 1 實際上是關於確認工程設計的令人滿意的完整性。這是製衡，基本上是在不同階段的施工結束或機械完工時的簽收。第 2 階段是我們現在為設備供電的地方。我們正在通過該系統進行鉛測試和水測試。我們將進行儀器校準等。然後第 3 階段是引入黑色物質。實際上，我們不是在談論從生產吞吐量的類似階段開始。就我們如何對調試的不同部分進行排序而言，這實際上是關於活動的階段。

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。然後僅基於幻燈片 17 上的圖形，我是否正確地假設調試步驟第三，黑色大規模引入，比春天更多的 24 年第一季度，或者說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，我想暫緩給出具體的時間安排。我想通過建設走得更遠，但我確實想把它列出來，這樣我們就可以回到你身邊，討論在我們推出建設結束時我們將如何對調試進行排序。

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。我確實想談談《通貨膨脹減少法》。我只想說清楚，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，你們期望得到嗎？那是你被告知你會收到的東西嗎？或者，我想，它是否仍然有待確定，你只是假設你會排隊或類似的東西，但可能還不是很確定。這公平嗎？或者我只是想明確一點。

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，我會說我們不能具體談論任何不堅定且不准備公開的事情，但我只想說這裡的策略有截止日期。有很多不同的計劃通過不同的立法機構和對顯然通過的各種事情的頒布。所以，這將是描述它。我認為 2 將是稅收抵免，因此我們的理解是，這將通過財政部，並且將從明年開始提供，但將有一個與此相關的流程來評估和適當分配。所以真的只是想，5 的目的是幫助提煉所有這些相對混亂的信息，這些信息有時可能適用於我們。

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

我們的下一個問題將來自 Ben Kallo 和 Baird。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。但它與現金有什麼關係呢？然後，有什麼方法可以讓你在未來的波動和你構建合約的方式中保持沉默？然後，蒂姆，我有一些關於上一個電話或 2 電話的後續問題。

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，謝謝你的問題。所以在 FMV 方面和財務方面，Debbie 將承擔這一點，然後 Tim 將承擔其餘部分。所以，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.

早上好，本。所以公平的市場價值只是非現金，對吧？因此，它會影響您的現金，因為您在結算時以市場價值結算，但在調整我們的非現金調整之間的起伏。然後當我們向前看時，我想也許只是提醒我們現在在這個世界上，我們正在出售黑人彌撒，而這不是我們將要進入的世界。所以有一個很長的結算期與黑色物質進行交易。最終，黑色物質將在我們的輻條中產生，並將進入我們的中心進一步精煉成電池材料。這類合同的結算期會短得多。所以當我們到了那個階段，我們的曝光窗口就會大大減少。

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.

再補充一點，我們從近期建模的角度獲得支出，目前該模型處於離線狀態。但在收入討論下的 MD&A 中，我們實際上提供了更多關於正在解決的黑人群體老化分析的披露。所以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。並且只是關於溶劑萃取的不同步驟。我不知道它是否在時間線上，但看起來有幾個不同溶劑萃取的步驟。我想，在你啟動和運行之前，需要多長時間才能獲得正確的公式，因為沒有更好的詞，溶劑。而且我們不必進行調整，這可能需要時間來弄清楚您需要的不同混合物。我只是想知道，由於那裡的幾個步驟，它是如何進入上一個關於如何擴展的問題的。

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。很高興回答這個問題。所以基本上，我們知道我們將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過程相同，因此提取相同的稀釋劑、相同的加工條件。所以從這個角度來看，我們不希望在那裡做出任何改變。因此，我們預計這本身不會影響我們的調試或提升。關於在唯一提取方面進行調試的第一件事實際上是讓解決方案以正確的流速通過。因此，這一切都與最終通過固體萃取的體積流量有關。這就是您的目標，它比本質上的處理更加機械化。

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

好的。這對我有好處。感謝你們。

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

我們的下一個問題將來自 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.

早上好。您認為您可以在 3 個季度的每個季度中說出您的預期總容量嗎？然後進一步，您期望您在每個季度的產能利用率。

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

正確的。抱歉，您的意思是說清楚一點，上一個財政年度？

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中，您預計您的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。所以，我認為那裡有一些廣泛的跡象，也到了我們的年終，然後我們將在一月份召開年終電話會議。因此，我不想超越自己，但將對今年的業務前景進行一些預覽。所以我不想超越自己。但我會說只是高水平，然後也許黛比或蒂姆想要添加，我們在那裡闡明。我的意思是，很明顯，從表面上看，坦率地說，它的變化看起來非常激烈。但實際上在一天結束時，正如黛比和我所說的那樣，相對於我們想要的位置，這確實是大約 1 到 2 個季度的轉變。我們做出了艱難的決定來修復這些低資本成本的優化項目。是的，它增加了一些時間，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那樣，我們現在看到了這樣做的好處，即使我們只是將 8 月份的結果初步放入幻燈片中。所以只是談到最後一個季度和我們現在所看到的，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，布賴恩，我們預計它不會影響樞紐。我的意思是說，在一天結束時，我們要做的是在從現在到集線器啟動時優化我們的斯托克網絡，以確保我們可以生成我們需要生成的黑色物質。但我們相信我們仍然在這方面做得很好。

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，Brian，在第 10 頁，您將看到我們針對幻燈片中不同資產的廣泛時間安排發布的內容。

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。而且我想，只是為了澄清一下，所以您的指導似乎暗示第四季度黑色批量生產比第三季度連續增加 30% 到 35%。你能不能談談推動增長的關鍵項目？

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，排名第一的驅動因素實際上是對 Arizona 輻條的認可，它現在開始達到其目標吞吐量能力。然後對阿拉巴馬州也有一個小的影響，即將啟動，這將在我們的黑色大規模生產的季度運行率方面產生額外的積極增長。

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

您是否預計這些設施的發展勢頭會持續到 2023 年或 2023 年？

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，我們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它。最終，這是關於阿拉巴馬州的崛起。但鑑於從亞利桑那州吸取的經驗教訓，我們預計該設施將得到很好的發展。

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。當您考慮在歐洲開展項目時，鑑於歐洲的採用率更高，您是否期望這些設施的開工率高於美國設施？還是您認為在對這些設施進行建模方面應該相似？

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，我們預計亞利桑那州、阿拉巴馬州、德國和挪威等這些新工廠的產能利用率都非常相似。這就是亞利桑那州作為早期指標做得很好的事情。在這方面，我們從商業角度看到歐洲的強勁需求。因此，我們預計這種趨勢也將繼續下去。

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。就像最後一個問題一樣。與《降低通貨膨脹法》有關，您對聯邦政府何時提供這些資金有任何看法嗎？

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。總的來說，布賴恩，沒關係。很多這些程序實際上是從 2023 年開始的。所以我認為他們已經通過了立法，這真的是通過這些計劃的實施，而且它們都是從 2023 年開始的。

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

太好了，謝謝你的額外顏色。非常有幫助。

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

我們的下一個問題將來自花旗銀行的 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，早上好。正如您所說，看到的黑色批量生產下降幅度很大，但您只是延遲了 1 到 2 個季度。您提到了亞利桑那中心的優化，您在那裡做了哪些流程改進？這會降低你的成本嗎？還是就像消除瓶頸一樣？您是否在當前的生產中看到了所有這些好處？

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，我們認為這些變化對這些工廠的成本沒有任何負面影響。我想說，我們整體商業模式的好處之一是我們輻條工廠的複制性質。因此，我們在這裡學到的經驗教訓可以推廣到標准設計中，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時間。我們學到了很多。我們對我們現在取得的進展感到高興，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.

你對未來的網站有任何大概的時間嗎？您提到阿拉巴馬州從第四季度末開始。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，一點沒錯。所以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，例如，只需確保我們可以讓材料以我們需要的速度流過。這一切現在都在解決並納入我們的標准設計中。就長期而言是的，PJ。我認為第 10 頁是一個很好的廣泛時機。而且在明年初和今年的展望中，我們將看到我們可能會增加什麼。但這實際上是我們擴建的管道。

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，您提到了通過 DOE 提供的潛在貸款。但除此之外，您還提到了本地採購的清潔車輛計劃和與之相關的信用。電池回收如何適應這一點，我敢肯定，到本世紀末，這將是您需要回收的關鍵部分？您如何從該特定計劃中受益？

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，好問題，PJ。只是為了澄清。所以這對我們來說是間接的好處。這當然是為了購買電動汽車。但要獲得這一榮譽，國內供應內容的要求也在不斷增加。因此，從大約 40% 開始，並在此後的幾年中增長到更多。所以整個問題是有人如何通過國內供應滿足這一要求？它將從何而來，尤其是如您所知，國內採礦業的領先優勢很長。因此，從需求拉動的角度來看，我們看到的是汽車製造商、電池製造商加速進入，試圖了解他們如何滿足這些要求。回收是獲得供應的更快途徑，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條件。

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.

再一次，如果您想問一個問題，那就是您手機上的 Star。我們的下一個問題將來自 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?

就我的幾個問題。在優化方面，了解更多的材料處理和低資本支出是有幫助的。有沒有一種方法可以量化黑色質量恢復的收益改善，特別是相對於規範合併技術？

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，我們不提供關於提高產量的具體指導。但值得注意的是，我們注意到新一代工廠的整體回收率有了顯著改善。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。補充一點，傑夫，我知道你要去哪裡。但就像更廣泛的評論一樣，當蒂姆回答了前面關於思想的問題時，人們可能會說，“嘿，這些是 10K，你有 50K。那麼有什麼大的區別？我會集中我的話，但我只是想要強調一下。所以我們提高了我們實際處理的外形尺寸。所以我們採用完整的包裝，而不是模塊，它們就像包裝的組成部分。這對我們作為汽車製造商來說非常有利朝著越來越大的包裝和出售包裝的架構發展，沒有拆解，但它也確實改變了，很明顯，客戶在做什麼，對吧？所以我們有多級粉碎，有點不同，核心技術相同，但是在少數幾個方面略有不同，所以這確實是我們正在解決的問題。這沒什麼大不了的。但現在有了這些，這對我們來說很棒，因為正如蒂姆所說，這是我們未來計劃的抄本方法。

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.

您是否預計也會在羅切斯特推出這項服務？或者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。所以在羅切斯特，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，但它將增強我們通過工廠採用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，在這個時間點，所有這些我們都認為是新一代的全包裝工廠。因此，當您查看我們對新設施的預測時，它們都基於完整的一攬子計劃。

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?

蒂姆，考慮到它將成為 23 年春季美國 3 個運營工廠中的 1 個，如果你在今年上半年這樣做，我們是否應該為此假設一些停機時間？

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.

這是正常的。我們正在與羅切斯特的合作夥伴共同做的是，我們實際上是在現有運營工廠旁邊進行設備的建造和組裝，然後我們將基本上進行熱改造，這將有一個非常非常小的當我們更換工廠的一些關鍵部件時，從停機時間的角度來看對季度的影響。

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。這很有幫助，幻燈片也很有幫助。因此，我很欣賞流程步驟和調試時間表的透明度。我只是想調和你發表的 2 條評論。一，我認為地圖上的 100 號建築將在 23 年春季投入運營，這是接收黑人群眾，然後調試和引入黑人群眾將在 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，你不會有黑色的大規模銷售，任何收入都將與非電池金屬或塑料相關，或者可能與支付的召回費用有關拆卸召回電池。我們如何看待時機，尤其是在春季開放倉庫的情況下？您是否需要建立 3 到 4 個季度的庫存來餵野獸？或者我們如何看待這一點，我想，當您委託前 2 個步驟並按照您的闡述進入第三階段時，您會慢慢引入旁路。

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，我們將在明年春天完成我們的倉庫，準備接收黑色彌撒。我會讓黛比就我們目前披露的關於我們可能在庫存建設方面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，“餵野獸”。所以我首先要說的是，我們還沒有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，我們手頭有一些庫存是明智的，我們肯定會為此制定計劃。在我們制定明年的計劃時，這絕對是我們清單上需要解決的問題。因此，這將是我們的明智之舉。當我們之前提到的設施，我們現在的工作是我們的輻條時，延遲可能看起來有點劇烈，但真的認為這是讓我們的輻條準備好為我們的中心生產的準備時間。因此，如果您最終想到這一點，我們不需要大量庫存的連續操作，材料將供應到我們的輻條，它們將直接進入我們的中心。但是在那個過渡時期，當我們經歷啟動時，我們手頭有一些材料是明智的。然後最後一部分真的只是我一直在提醒大家，賣黑人不是我們的事。實際上，這也不是材料最經濟的用途。因此，在某種程度上，我們可以早晚從這些材料中提取鋰，這對我們來說是一個更好的經濟故事。所以它位於背景中。到達終點並在配方奶粉和中間銷售中獲得黑色大眾是一點點經濟壓力。

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.

太好了，黛比。只是對那裡的最後一條評論進行了非常快速的跟進。把鋰留在桌子上，你會說每公斤或每噸出售的黑色物質，你會在美元上留下 0.50 美元，如果不是更多的話？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。正確地，它隨著定價而四處移動，因此您必須對此發表看法。是肯定的。我的意思是，這確實是核心精髓，有時我認為我們的羅切斯特樞紐將生產 7,500 至 8,500 噸碳酸鋰的故事被忽略了。如果你以今天的價格計算，這對公司來說是一筆可觀的經濟實質。所以在每噸的基礎上，它會四處移動，但你的數學，我會說是方向正確的。這很有趣，因為 4 或 5 年前甚至一年前，你會聽到說，就像 1/3、1/3、1/3，大致相等的貢獻。我們經常會被告知，'嘿，你為什麼還要關注鋰？就像6年前一樣。但這是它的核心。最重要的是，市場嚴重缺乏供應，而需求卻在增加。因此，我們是相對於採礦解決方案而言的近期解決方案，從財務角度來看，這對於公司未來的價值以及在某種程度上如何適用於現在非常重要。

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

我們的下一個問題將來自 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?

只是想就您如何看待 Hub 2 進行高級討論。我知道您現在正忙於 Hub 1。但是對於愛爾蘭共和軍法案，這對您考慮第二個樞紐位置的影響有多大？是否有足夠的原料（比方說，中期原料）讓您證明像北美的中心一樣可以從 IRA 法案中獲得這些運營支出和資本支出收益？或者也許你的一些合作義務仍然會讓你專注於歐洲，也許 Hub 2 或者你會不會，這可能會變得貪婪，但你會考慮在 2 和 3 上進行並行擴展嗎？同時？我只是想了解您是如何看待這一點的，因為政策變化是實時發生的？

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。另外，我會保持我們可以說的。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，很長一段時間。所以很高興看到。與此同時，在歐洲，我們看到了我們業務的巨大順風，同樣是商業上的，同樣從監管的角度來看。因此，我們將評估所有選項。正如我們之前所說，有更長的鉛低美元，實際上只是以時間為導向的活動，我們可以在場地選擇方面取得進展，如果允許，一旦準備好等等。所以我們將繼續沿著這條路走下去。期待能夠在我們可以的時候提供更新。但我想說，無論哪種方式，我們都認為不一定是矯枉過正。我會說這很有趣。應該是差不多的吧。因此，我們將有一些有趣的決定擺在我們面前。

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.

目前看來沒有其他問題了。我現在想將電話轉回給 Ajay 以聽取他的閉幕詞。

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.

謝謝你。因此，最後，我們將繼續執行我們所說的樞紐網絡增長目標，並鞏固我們作為電池供應鏈全球戰略參與者長期首選回收和資源回收合作夥伴的地位。我們有足夠的流動性來滿足我們的資本和運營需求，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增長的方法。最後，我們的綜合輻條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增加政策支持帶來的有利順風，從而轉化為可觀的收益和現金流。謝謝你。感謝您對 Li-Ccle 的時間和興趣。我們期待繼續向您更新有關我們正在進行的數據加載和執行的信息。

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

謝謝你。女士們，先生們，今天的活動到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。