Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day. My name is Britney, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the fourth quarter and full year 2021 Li-Cycle Holdings Earnings Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions)

再會。我的名字是布蘭妮，今天我將成為你的會議接線員。在這個時候，我想歡迎大家參加 Li-Cycle Holdings 2021 年第四季度和全年的財報電話會議和網絡直播。 （操作員說明）

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Nahla Azmy, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

謝謝你。我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係主管 Nahla Azmy。請繼續。

Thank you, Britney. Good morning, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today for Li-Cycle's review of our fourth quarter and full year 2021 results ended October 31. First, we will start today with a brief video, then we will follow with formal remarks from Tim Johnston, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman; Ajay Kochhar, Co-Founder, President; and Bruce MacInnis, Chief Financial Officer. Debbie Simpson, our CFO effective February 1, is also joining us for the Q&A session to follow.

謝謝你，布蘭妮。早上好，謝謝大家今天加入我們，了解 Li-Cycle 對截至 10 月 31 日的 2021 年第四季度和全年業績的審查。首先，我們今天將從一個簡短的視頻開始，然後我們將發表正式評論Tim Johnston，聯合創始人、執行主席； Ajay Kochhar，聯合創始人，總裁；和首席財務官 Bruce MacInnis。 2 月 1 日生效的首席財務官黛比·辛普森 (Debbie Simpson) 也將與我們一起參加接下來的問答環節。

Ahead of this call, Li-Cycle issued press releases, a video and a presentation, which can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at investors.li-cycle.com. 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 assumptions are incorrect, including because of factors discussed in today's press releases, 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.

在本次電話會議之前，Li-Cycle 發布了新聞稿、視頻和演示文稿，可在我們網站 Investors.li-cycle.com 的投資者關係部分找到。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。實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。如果我們的任何假設不正確，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。這些文件可在我們的網站investors.li-cycle.com 上找到。

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.

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。

With that, I'm pleased to turn the call to Tim.

有了這個，我很高興把電話轉給蒂姆。

(presentation)

（介紹）

Thanks, Nahla, and Good morning. We hope you enjoyed the video and came away with the sense of how mobilized and excited we are about Li-Cycle's future growth prospects. As you can see, we are positioning the company to be the leading innovative and environmental recycler of lithium-ion batteries and a key secondary source of critical battery materials. Through these 2 roles, we are effectively closing the loop for the expanding battery material supply chain in key growth markets. 2021 was a landmark year for Li-Cycle. We significantly and successfully ramped up the implementation of our Spoke & Hub network strategy, particularly in North America, addressing the growing market and customer needs to secure supply domestically.

謝謝，Nahla，早上好。我們希望您喜歡這段視頻，並感受到我們對 Li-Cycle 未來增長前景的激動和興奮。如您所見，我們將公司定位為領先的鋰離子電池創新和環保回收商，以及關鍵電池材料的關鍵二次資源。通過這兩個角色，我們有效地關閉了關鍵增長市場中不斷擴大的電池材料供應鏈的循環。 2021 年是 Li-Cycle 具有里程碑意義的一年。我們顯著並成功地加快了 Spoke & Hub 網絡戰略的實施，尤其是在北美，以滿足不斷增長的市場和客戶需求，以確保國內供應。

Before I review the highlights of the year, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Debbie Simpson, who is taking over as CFO on February 1. Some time ago, we announced that Bruce MacInnis plans to retire in January. We want to thank him for his contribution and key role in taking Li-Cycle public, and we wish him well in his retirement.

在回顧今年的亮點之前，我想藉此機會歡迎黛比辛普森，她將於 2 月 1 日接任首席財務官。前段時間，我們宣布布魯斯麥金尼斯計劃在 1 月退休。我們要感謝他為 Li-Cycle 上市所做的貢獻和關鍵作用，並祝愿他退休後一切順利。

Beginning on Slide 3, for a review of our progress in key areas. First, on strategy. Starting off with a strong balance sheet, we made significant strides in long-term strategic partnership arrangements with 2 leading global participants, validating Li-Cycle's business model. The first is with Koch Strategic Platforms, which invested $100 million through the purchase of a convertible note. KSP has been rapidly growing in investments related to energy transformation, specifically within the electrification ecosystem. In addition to the capital investment by KSP, this partnership provides Li-Cycle a strategic opportunity to deploy Koch's engineering powers in spoke fabrication, spoke deployment and hub operational readiness.

從幻燈片 3 開始，回顧我們在關鍵領域的進展。首先，關於戰略。從強大的資產負債表開始，我們在與 2 個全球領先參與者的長期戰略合作夥伴安排方面取得了重大進展，驗證了 Li-Cycle 的商業模式。第一個是 Koch Strategic Platforms，它通過購買可轉換票據投資了 1 億美元。 KSP 在與能源轉型相關的投資方面一直在迅速增長，特別是在電氣化生態系統內。除了 KSP 的資本投資外，這種合作夥伴關係還為 Li-Cycle 提供了一個戰略機會，可以在輻條製造、輻條部署和樞紐運營準備方面部署 Koch 的工程能力。

The second meaningful alliance is with LG Chem and LG Energy Solutions. LGC is a leading global chemical company with expertise in active battery materials manufacturing. LGES is the largest global lithium-ion battery manufacturer for electric vehicles outside of China. By mid-March, both have plans to invest a total of $50 million in Li-Cycle. Upon completion of the commercial agreements for the battery supplier to our spokes and off-take on nickel sulphate from our hub.

第二個有意義的聯盟是與 LG Chem 和 LG Energy Solutions。 LGC 是一家全球領先的化學公司，在活性電池材料製造方面擁有專業知識。 LGES是中國以外全球最大的電動汽車鋰離子電池製造商。到 3 月中旬，雙方都計劃向 Li-Cycle 投資 5000 萬美元。在完成與我們輻條的電池供應商的商業協議並從我們的中心承購硫酸鎳後。

In addition to the development of these key external stakeholder relationships, we have been building and aligning the internal leadership team. We've made recent key business and finance leadership hires and realigned to a regional structure to more effectively support the acceleration of the company's global growth plans. Under the new structure, regional presidents will oversee recycling operations, commercial activities and business development activities in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific.

除了發展這些關鍵的外部利益相關者關係外，我們一直在建立和調整內部領導團隊。我們最近招聘了關鍵的業務和財務領導，並重新調整了區域結構，以更有效地支持公司加速全球增長計劃。在新結構下，區域總裁將監督美洲、歐洲、中東和非洲以及亞太地區的回收業務、商業活動和業務發展活動。

Core to Li-Cycles operations is health, safety, environment and quality. We are setting the foundation early to promote an HSEQ driven culture at all levels of the organization as we grow rapidly. On health and safety, we implemented an institutionalized and incident management system, providing an organizational-wide incident communications framework, which enables continuous improvement. For environment and quality, we obtained key registrations for ISO 45001 pertaining to health and safety, 9001 pertaining to quality management systems and 14001 pertaining to effective environmental management systems and R2 pertaining to responsible recycling.

Li-Cycles 運營的核心是健康、安全、環境和質量。隨著我們的快速發展，我們正在儘早奠定基礎，以在組織的各個層面推廣 HSEQ 驅動的文化。在健康和安全方面，我們實施了製度化的事件管理系統，提供了一個組織範圍的事件溝通框架，從而實現了持續改進。在環境和質量方面，我們獲得了與健康和安全有關的 ISO 45001、與質量管理體係有關的 9001 和與有效環境管理體係有關的 14001 和有關負責任回收的 R2 的關鍵註冊。

Both Kingston and Rochester operations maintained their ISO and R2 registration with 0 nonconformities. We completed all required environmental permits for the Arizona spoke, keeping the facility on track for operational start-up. Also, per schedule, we have been advancing the permitting for the Alabama spoke.

金士頓和羅切斯特的業務均保持其 ISO 和 R2 註冊，不合格率為 0。我們為亞利桑那輻條完成了所有必需的環境許可，使該設施保持在運營啟動的軌道上。此外，按照時間表，我們一直在推進阿拉巴馬州輻條的許可。

Regarding operational performance. The Kingston and Rochester spokes continued their successful ramp-up during the fourth quarter, bringing their full-year black mass production ahead of our original target for fiscal year 2021. In terms of projects in construction, as we glimpsed from the video, both the Alabama and Arizona spokes remain on track for start-up in 2022. Importantly, we also broke ground on the Rochester hub.

關於運營績效。 Kingston 和 Rochester 輻條在第四季度繼續成功提高產量，使其全年黑色量產超過了我們 2021 財年的原定目標。在建設項目方面，正如我們從視頻中看到的那樣，阿拉巴馬州和亞利桑那州的輻條仍有望在 2022 年啟動。重要的是，我們還在羅切斯特樞紐破土動工。

Finally, on the commercial front, we have made meaningful progress in both battery supply and end product off-take. On the supply side, we entered into a multiyear agreement with Ultium Cells, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution to recycle the battery material scrap generated by their planned higher cell manufacturing. As part of this collaboration, we have plans to co-locate our fifth North American spoke at this site. We entered a major supply agreement through our partnership with Univar Solutions, a leader in waste management. We are leveraging Univar's expertise in collecting, sorting and managing waste at multiple OEM sites, and we will be the solution provider for lithium-ion battery waste coming from North American electric vehicle producers such as Mercedes Benz. By mid-March, we expect to have finalized long-term agreements with LGC and LGES. We will take their nickel-bearing lithium-ion battery materials and supply them with nickel sulphate from our Rochester hub facility, closing the loop on their battery materials.

最後，在商業方面，我們在電池供應和終端產品採購方面都取得了有意義的進展。在供應方面，我們與通用汽車和 LG 能源解決方案的合資企業 Ultium Cells 簽訂了一項多年協議，以回收他們計劃的更高電池製造產生的電池材料廢料。作為此次合作的一部分，我們計劃將我們的第五次北美演講集中在這個網站上。通過與廢物管理領域的領導者 Univar Solutions 的合作，我們簽訂了一項重要的供應協議。我們正在利用 Univar 在多個 OEM 站點收集、分類和管理廢物方面的專業知識，我們將成為來自梅賽德斯奔馳等北美電動汽車製造商的鋰離子電池廢物的解決方案提供商。到 3 月中旬，我們預計將與 LGC 和 LGES 敲定長期協議。我們將採用他們的含鎳鋰離子電池材料，並從我們的羅徹斯特樞紐工廠向他們提供硫酸鎳，從而關閉他們的電池材料循環。

Turning to Slide 4, for a few additional commercial comments. On the supply side, we increased and then diversified the number of battery supply customers to approximately 85 this year. One of Li-Cycle's competitive advantages is our IP protected processing technology, which is agnostic lithium-ion battery recycling sources. For example, the cycling intake at our spoke facilities has shifted predominantly from consumer electronics in fiscal year 2020 to transportation OEM derived batteries, manufacturing scrap and end-of-life battery customers, including EV battery recalls in fiscal year 2021. We are equipped to continue to be flexible in our preprocessing of recycled material through our spokes. As we approach mid-decade, we anticipate this intake mix will tilt more heavily to battery manufacturing scrap.

轉到幻燈片 4，了解一些額外的商業評論。在供應方面，我們今年將電池供應客戶的數量增加並多元化至約 85 家。 Li-Cycle 的競爭優勢之一是我們受 IP 保護的處理技術，它是不可知的鋰離子電池回收來源。例如，我們輻條設施的自行車攝入量在 2020 財年主要從消費電子產品轉向運輸 OEM 衍生電池、製造廢料和報廢電池客戶，包括 2021 財年的電動汽車電池召回。我們有能力應對通過我們的輻條繼續靈活地預處理回收材料。隨著我們接近十年中期，我們預計這種攝入組合將更加傾向於電池製造廢料。

On the off-take side, all our black mass production capacity was sold. Beginning in 2022, all black mass production capacity will be sold under an off-take agreement until it is required for the hub.

在承購方面，我們所有的黑色量產能力都被賣掉了。從 2022 年開始，所有黑色量產產能將根據承購協議出售，直到樞紐需要。

Turning to Slide 5, for operational highlights. As depicted on the left side, for the fourth quarter and fourth fiscal year, we saw an acceleration in black mass production year-on-year due to the ramp-up of the Kingston and Rochester spokes. On the right side, we are providing an example of how much battery material needs to be processed in order to generate an equivalent amount of black mass. We have extended this to show the amount of high-value critical battery end products that can be produced from black mass using chemical conversion rates.

轉到幻燈片 5，了解操作要點。如左側所示，在第四季度和第四財年，由於金士頓和羅切斯特輻條的增加，我們看到黑色量產同比加速。在右側，我們提供了一個示例，說明需要處理多少電池材料才能產生等量的黑色物質。我們對此進行了擴展，以顯示可以使用化學轉化率從黑色物質中生產的高價值關鍵電池最終產品的數量。

That concludes my formal remarks. Let me turn to Bruce for his financial review.

我的正式發言到此結束。讓我請布魯斯進行財務審查。

Thanks, Tim. Turning to Slide 6, I'll review results for the fourth quarter and full year. Please note that both periods reflect our fiscal year ending October 31, 2021. For the quarter and year, revenues increased to over $4 million and $7 million versus prior periods of $0.5 million and $0.8 million, respectively. This was driven by an increase in product sales, primarily as a result of increasing quantities of batteries and battery scrap processed at the Rochester spoke as it ramps up, the continued onboarding of new battery supply customers as well as higher recycling services.

謝謝，蒂姆。轉到幻燈片 6，我將回顧第四季度和全年的結果。請注意，這兩個時期都反映了我們截至 2021 年 10 月 31 日的財政年度。本季度和年度的收入分別增加到超過 400 萬美元和 700 萬美元，而之前的時期分別為 50 萬美元和 80 萬美元。這是由產品銷售的增長推動的，主要是由於羅切斯特輪輻處理的電池和電池廢料數量增加，新電池供應客戶的持續加入以及更高的回收服務。

Adjusted EBITDA loss was nearly $12 million and $25 million versus prior period loss of $4 million and $8 million, respectively. This was largely driven by higher personnel costs, professional fees, costs associated with running a public company and the increased network development costs such as raw materials and supplies related to the continued growth and expansion of the business. Finally, we ended with cash and cash equivalents of nearly $596 million at the end of the period.

調整後的 EBITDA 虧損接近 1200 萬美元和 2500 萬美元，而前期虧損分別為 400 萬美元和 800 萬美元。這主要是由於更高的人員成本、專業費用、與運營上市公司相關的成本以及與業務持續增長和擴張相關的原材料和供應等網絡開發成本增加。最後，我們在本期末獲得了近 5.96 億美元的現金和現金等價物。

With that, let me turn it over to Ajay.

有了這個，讓我把它交給阿傑。

Thanks, Bruce. I will cover some recent strategic network developments in more detail and also discuss market trends and our business outlook.

謝謝，布魯斯。我將更詳細地介紹一些最近的戰略網絡發展，並討論市場趨勢和我們的業務前景。

Turning to Slide 7, on our strategy. There are really 2 key takeaways here that I would like to highlight. First, we are focusing our near to medium-term network growth investments in North America and Europe, aligning with the market and customer needs. We will also be opportunistically exploring Asia Pacific. Second, manufacturing scrap continues to provide a strong base-load for our existing and future spoke operations. End-of-life battery volumes continue to rise steadily with anticipated acceleration as early generation electric vehicles reach the end of their useful life.

轉到幻燈片 7，關於我們的策略。我想在這裡強調兩個關鍵要點。首先，我們將重點放在北美和歐洲的近期至中期網絡增長投資，以適應市場和客戶需求。我們還將機會主義地探索亞太地區。其次，製造廢料繼續為我們現有和未來的輻條業務提供強大的基本負荷。隨著早期電動汽車使用壽命的結束，報廢電池的數量繼續穩步上升，預計會加速。

Turning to Slide 8, for a reminder of our stated 2025 integrated Spoke & Hub network targets. We are reiterating that Li-Cycle is targeting annual processing capacity at our spokes of at least 100,000 annual tons of lithium-ion battery equivalent input, which equates to approximately 20 gigawatt hours of battery materials. As for the hub, reiterating that we are planning on a centralized network with at least 220,000 annual tons of lithium-ion battery equivalent input, equivalent to approximately 45 gigawatt hours of battery materials.

轉到幻燈片 8，以提醒我們聲明的 2025 年集成 Spoke & Hub 網絡目標。我們重申，Li-Cycle 的目標是年處理能力至少達到 100,000 噸鋰離子電池當量輸入，這相當於大約 20 吉瓦時的電池材料。至於樞紐，重申我們正在規劃一個集中式網絡，每年至少投入 220,000 噸鋰離子電池當量，相當於約 45 吉瓦時的電池材料。

Next, I'll discuss some of the trends we are seeing as depicted on Slides 9 and 10. Significant growth in battery mega-factory supply chain investments in both North America and Europe has continued at an accelerating pace. As consumer adoption of EVs is inflecting, the global automotive OEMs are expanding manufacturing footprints to ensure market share of EV sales. Li-Cycle is strategically and expeditiously positioning its Spoke & Hub network, focusing on customer needs in North America and Europe, alongside an opportunistic approach in Asia Pacific.

接下來，我將討論我們在幻燈片 9 和 10 中看到的一些趨勢。北美和歐洲電池大型工廠供應鏈投資的顯著增長繼續加速。隨著消費者對電動汽車的採用正在發生變化，全球汽車原始設備製造商正在擴大製造足跡，以確保電動汽車銷售的市場份額。 Li-Cycle 正在戰略性地快速定位其 Spoke & Hub 網絡，重點關注北美和歐洲的客戶需求，同時在亞太地區採取機會主義方法。

We are locating our facilities close to centers where demand is clustered while also securing baseload key commercial customer partnerships that will underpin returns on our capital investment. The acceleration of cell, module and pack manufacturing is driving increasing needs for scrap recycling. Approximately and at least 5% to 10% of lithium-ion battery manufacturing volumes are typically lost and scrap.

我們的設施靠近需求集中的中心，同時還確保了基本負載的關鍵商業客戶合作夥伴關係，這將支持我們的資本投資回報。電池、模塊和電池組製造的加速推動了對廢料回收的需求不斷增加。大約和至少 5% 到 10% 的鋰離子電池製造量通常會丟失和報廢。

In North America, as seen on Slide 9, mega-factory investments are now expected to surpass 500 gigawatt hours of capacity by 2025. That suggests that addressable market for scrap is expected to be between 125,000 to 250,000 tons of manufacturing scrap by 2025.

在北美，如幻燈片 9 所示，到 2025 年，大型工廠投資現在預計將超過 500 吉瓦時的產能。這表明，到 2025 年，可尋址的廢料市場預計將在 125,000 至 250,000 噸之間。

In Europe, as shown on Slide 10, this market is further along in terms of EV penetration and battery manufacturing relative to North America. It is expected by 2030 Europe will be 2x the size of the North American market. As with our strategy in North America, we are strategically developing sites, posted demand centers, while also securing key commercial contracts for battery supply and off-take agreements.

在歐洲，如幻燈片 10 所示，與北美相比，該市場在電動汽車滲透率和電池製造方面走得更遠。預計到 2030 年，歐洲市場規模將是北美市場的 2 倍。與我們在北美的戰略一樣，我們正在戰略性地開發站點，張貼需求中心，同時還獲得電池供應和承購協議的關鍵商業合同。

Moving to Slide 11 to discuss our spoke expansion pipeline. Our spoke IP-protected technology is capital-light, has a low environmental footprint and size. As you saw in the video, we are able to largely replicate each spoke in a modular Lego build fashion, thereby scaling up both with pace and cost efficiently as the battery supply chain is rapidly growing. Further, we are able to accommodate changing battery chemistries and varying form factors. With our recently announced spokes in Ohio and Norway, we will have approximately 55,000 tons per year of lithium-ion battery processing capacity underpinned by strong commercial partnerships. Further, we are in advanced planning stages for a second spoke in Europe, specifically in Germany. Consistent with our strategy, we anticipate updating you on this site upon additional progress.

轉到幻燈片 11，討論我們的輻條擴展管道。我們的輻條 IP 保護技術是輕量級的，具有較低的環境足跡和尺寸。正如您在視頻中看到的那樣，我們能夠以模塊化樂高構建方式在很大程度上複製每個輻條，從而隨著電池供應鏈的快速增長，以速度和成本效益的方式擴大規模。此外，我們能夠適應不斷變化的電池化學成分和不同的外形尺寸。通過我們最近在俄亥俄州和挪威宣布的輻條，我們將擁有每年約 55,000 噸的鋰離子電池加工能力，並以強大的商業夥伴關係為基礎。此外，我們正處於歐洲，特別是德國的第二個輻條的高級計劃階段。與我們的戰略一致，我們預計在取得更多進展後會在本網站上更新您。

Turning to Slide 12, for a review of our newly announced Ohio spoke site. This spoke site will be co-located on the same site as with Ultium Cells' battery cell manufacturing mega-factory currently under construction in Warren, Ohio. On the background, when fully operational in 2022, the $2.3 billion Ultium Cells plant will span 3 million square feet, with annual capacity of approximately 35 gigawatt hours. Ultium Cells will construct a new building for the company's recycling facility and Li-Cycle will install and operate its proprietary spoke technology at the new facility. The new spoke will have an annual processing capacity of approximately 15,000 tons and is expected to be operational in early 2023. The co-location will substantially reduce the costs associated with inbound logistics given our facility's proximal location relative to Ultium Cells mega-factory.

轉到幻燈片 12，查看我們新宣布的俄亥俄州輻條網站。該輻條站點將與 Ultium Cells 目前正在俄亥俄州沃倫市建設的電池製造大型工廠位於同一地點。在此背景下，23 億美元的 Ultium Cells 工廠將於 2022 年全面投入運營，佔地 300 萬平方英尺，年產能約為 35 吉瓦時。 Ultium Cells 將為公司的回收設施建造一座新大樓，而 Li-Cycle 將在新設施中安裝和運營其專有的輻條技術。新輻條的年處理能力約為 15,000 噸，預計將於 2023 年初投入運營。鑑於我們的設施相對於 Ultium Cells 大型工廠的位置較近，這一託管將大大降低與入境物流相關的成本。

Turning to Slide 13 for a discussion of our recently announced first spoke launch into Europe. This spoke will be located in Norway through a joint venture with ECO STOR and Morrow Batteries. ECO STOR is a leading second-life energy storage business, focused on repurposing lithium-ion batteries into stationary energy storage systems. Morrow Batteries is building a state-of-the-art battery cell manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of over 40 gigawatt hours. We selected Norway strategically due to its nearly 75% EV penetration rate, which is the highest EV penetration rate in the world. It is projected that EV sales in Norway will reach 100% as early as spring of this year.

轉到幻燈片 13，討論我們最近宣布的第一個輻條發射到歐洲。該輻條將通過與 ECO STOR 和 Morrow Batteries 的合資企業位於挪威。 ECO STOR 是一家領先的二次能源存儲企業，專注於將鋰離子電池重新用於固定式能源存儲系統。 Morrow Batteries 正在建設一個最先進的電池製造廠，年產能超過 40 吉瓦時。我們戰略性地選擇了挪威，因為它的電動汽車普及率接近 75%，是世界上最高的電動汽車普及率。預計挪威的電動汽車銷量最早將在今年春天達到 100%。

We will be the majority owner of the joint venture with ECO STOR and Morrow being minority owners. We will be responsible for the construction and operational facility, which is expected to come online by early 2023, with processing capacity of 10,000 tons per year of lithium-ion batteries. We've also engaged Koch Engineered Solutions to construct, test and shift the modular spoke facility, which is an extension of Koch's strategic relationship with Li-Cycle. The facility will have the capability to process battery manufacturing scrap, fully the packs and energy storage systems. ECO STOR will provide the joint venture with end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and Morrow will provide battery manufacturing scrap.

我們將成為合資企業的大股東，ECO STOR 和 Morrow 是少數股東。我們將負責建設和運營設施，預計2023年初投產，鋰離子電池年處理能力為1萬噸。我們還聘請了 Koch Engineered Solutions 來建造、測試和轉移模塊化輻條設施，這是 Koch 與 Li-Cycle 戰略關係的延伸。該設施將有能力處理電池製造廢料、完整的電池組和儲能係統。 ECO STOR 將為合資企業提供報廢的鋰離子電池，Morrow 將提供電池製造廢料。

Briefly to recap our Rochester Hub project on Slide 14. Utilizing Li-Cycle's IP-protected hydrometallurgical technology in a centralized location and leveraging historic infrastructure, we are able to achieve a number of key competitive advantages. These include higher resource recovery, lower capital intensity, lower environmental footprint and greater employee safety. While the project is based on uniquely designed processing technology, it does not require first-of-a-kind permitting.

在幻燈片 14 上簡要回顧一下我們的羅切斯特樞紐項目。利用 Li-Cycle 在集中位置的受 IP 保護的濕法冶金技術並利用歷史悠久的基礎設施，我們能夠獲得許多關鍵的競爭優勢。其中包括更高的資源回收率、更低的資本密集度、更低的環境足跡和更高的員工安全性。雖然該項目基於獨特設計的加工技術，但它不需要首創許可。

In addition to breaking ground on the project, we have frozen our process engineering design and consequently pulled forward orders for long lead equipment. We are securing construction equipment and materials to maintain schedule and cost. We contracted Hatch as the EPCM contractor and are finalizing our general contractor selection in the next few weeks. As we approach mechanical completion and commissioning in 2023, we intend to continue seeking opportunities to engage with Koch Engineered Solutions as part of our operational readiness strategy. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, we will provide updates on the development of the Rochester hub.

除了在項目上破土動工外，我們還凍結了我們的工藝工程設計，因此提前了長導設備的訂單。我們正在確保施工設備和材料以維持進度和成本。我們與 Hatch 簽約為 EPCM 承包商，並在接下來的幾週內最終確定我們的總承包商選擇。隨著我們在 2023 年接近機械完工和調試，我們打算繼續尋找與 Koch Engineered Solutions 合作的機會，作為我們運營準備戰略的一部分。在 2022 年和 2023 年期間，我們將提供有關羅切斯特樞紐發展的最新信息。

Turning to Slide 15, to address our key objectives and business outlook for 2022. The leadership team is directly aligned with shareholders based on these key objectives. First, we expect to continue to build on our balance sheet in support of our growth to provide us with a strong base and optionality and will also manage operating expenses as we build our business towards a path to profitability. Second, as mentioned in Tim's remarks, health, safety, environment and quality are core to Li-Cycle's culture, values and operating disciplines. We are establishing a strong foundation early at all of our locations that we can continue to implement and refine for new sites from development through operation. Third, we will continue to execute on the Rochester hub on time and on budget to support startup in 2023. Fourth, we expect to deliver on our black mass production target range of 6,500 tonnes to 7,500 tonnes in fiscal year 2022, one key edit to note on this metric.

轉到幻燈片 15，以解決我們 2022 年的關鍵目標和業務前景。領導團隊根據這些關鍵目標直接與股東保持一致。首先，我們預計將繼續鞏固我們的資產負債表，以支持我們的增長，為我們提供強大的基礎和選擇權，並且在我們建立業務走向盈利之路時，還將管理運營費用。其次，正如 Tim 所說，健康、安全、環境和質量是 Li-Cycle 文化、價值觀和經營準則的核心。我們在所有地點及早建立了堅實的基礎，我們可以繼續實施和完善從開發到運營的新地點。第三，我們將繼續按時按預算在羅切斯特樞紐上執行，以支持 2023 年的啟動。第四，我們預計將在 2022 財年實現 6,500 噸至 7,500 噸的黑色量產目標，其中一個關鍵的編輯是請注意此指標。

Similar to this past year, we anticipate production to ramp in the second half of fiscal 2022 with an acceleration into early 2023. That would include continued optimization of the Kingston and Rochester spokes and ramping up the Arizona and Alabama facilities. We will continue to make progress on development of spokes in Ohio, Norway and Germany.

與去年類似，我們預計產量將在 2022 財年下半年增加，並加速到 2023 年初。這將包括繼續優化金斯敦和羅切斯特的輻條，以及增加亞利桑那州和阿拉巴馬州的設施。我們將繼續在俄亥俄州、挪威和德國的輻條開發方面取得進展。

Before Q&A, I would like to conclude on some key points on Slide 16. We are experiencing a growth inflection point for the battery material supply chain. We are moving strategically and expeditiously with our customers and the market demand and have significantly advanced our Spoke & Hub network, particularly in North America and Europe. We executed on a number of partnerships with leading commercial partners, and we have a strong balance sheet to support our pipeline of growth projects.

在問答之前，我想總結一下幻燈片 16 的一些關鍵點。我們正在經歷電池材料供應鏈的增長拐點。我們正在根據客戶和市場需求進行戰略性和快速的移動，並顯著推進了我們的 Spoke & Hub 網絡，特別是在北美和歐洲。我們與領先的商業合作夥伴建立了許多合作夥伴關係，我們擁有強大的資產負債表來支持我們的增長項目管道。

Tim and I are extremely thankful and proud of the team's achievements and continued focus on execution. This concludes our formal remarks, and we are looking forward to your questions.

蒂姆和我對團隊的成就和繼續專注於執行感到非常感謝和自豪。我們的正式發言到此結束，我們期待您的提問。

(Operator Instructions) And we will take our first question from Brian Dobson with Chardan Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們將回答來自 Chardan Capital Markets 的 Brian Dobson 的第一個問題。

Maybe we can take it up to 30,000 feet per minute. Would you mind elaborating on what you see as the key mega trends shaping the sector over the next few years? And how you've positioned Li-C to benefit from that evolving landscape?

也許我們可以把它提高到每分鐘 30,000 英尺。您是否介意詳細說明您認為未來幾年塑造該行業的主要大趨勢？以及您如何定位 Li-C 以從不斷變化的環境中受益？

Yes. Hello, Brian, it's Ajay here, and I'll start and then Tim can add on as needed. You have to look, it's an extremely, extremely exciting time in the electrification market. We're seeing unprecedented shifts in acceleration in deployment of facilities and capital from our customers. I'll give you an example. This week we, of course, today announced our co-location with Ultium. On Tuesday, folks would have likely picked up, that they announced a third mega-factory beyond Ohio, which will be in Michigan, which is going to be bigger than the one in Ohio. So I think as folks look at EV targets, the acceleration of our customers, trying to meet customer demand, the pace continues to grow. And so we're being prudent and thoughtful how we continue to match up with that. But the really exciting thing about the mega trend is, it provides contracted baseload for us, along with those Tier 1 partners for us to drive our network and ultimately financial returns. So that's one large mega trend, I would say, is dominating from our perspective.

是的。你好，Brian，我是 Ajay，我先開始，然後 Tim 可以根據需要添加。你必須看看，這是電氣化市場非常非常激動人心的時刻。我們看到客戶在加速部署設施和資金方面發生了前所未有的變化。我給你舉個例子。當然，本週我們今天宣布了我們與 Ultium 的合作地點。週二，人們可能會意識到，他們宣佈在俄亥俄州以外建立第三家大型工廠，將在密歇根州，這將比俄亥俄州的更大。所以我認為，隨著人們關注電動汽車目標，我們客戶的加速，試圖滿足客戶需求，步伐繼續增長。因此，我們正在謹慎和深思熟慮如何繼續與之相匹配。但這個大趨勢真正令人興奮的是，它為我們提供了合同基礎負載，以及我們的一級合作夥伴，以推動我們的網絡並最終獲得財務回報。所以我想說，從我們的角度來看，這是一個大趨勢。

The second is on the flip side, and it's related, is, of course, critical materials. So we've seen continued tightness in the supply of critical materials to meet that demand. That, of course, bodes well for Li-Cycle sitting at the intersection of those megatrends. Our products are lithium and nickel and cobalt (inaudible) that go back into lithium-ion batteries. So that also bodes very well for us. So we're seeing the demand in the macro from the market benefit us on both sides of the equation.

第二個是另一方面，它是相關的，當然是關鍵材料。因此，我們看到滿足這一需求的關鍵材料供應持續緊張。當然，這對於處於這些大趨勢交叉點的 Li-Cycle 來說是個好兆頭。我們的產品是鋰、鎳和鈷（聽不清），它們可以重新用於鋰離子電池。所以這對我們來說也是個好兆頭。因此，我們看到市場的宏觀需求使我們在等式的兩邊都受益。

Yes. And then just to add on to that. I think the other thing that we're seeing is an increased focus on how these materials are produced. I mean we've seen all sorts of geopolitical instability in the supply of lithium in particular over the last couple of weeks in Europe and in South America. And so as we continue to work closely with our partners, we're in a benefited position because of our technology. And when we look at our spoke facilities, we don't generate any wastewater, we don't generate any meaningful air emissions. When we move forward to our hub facilities, once again, with zero liquid discharge. We have no thermal processors. And so this is closely aligned with what not only our customers want to see, but communities and governments around the world. So we're highly confident that we'll be able to continue to benefit from this general trend.

是的。然後只是補充一點。我認為我們看到的另一件事是越來越關注這些材料的生產方式。我的意思是我們已經看到鋰供應的各種地緣政治不穩定，特別是在過去幾週在歐洲和南美。因此，隨著我們繼續與我們的合作夥伴密切合作，我們因我們的技術而處於有利地位。當我們查看輻條設施時，我們不會產生任何廢水，也不會產生任何有意義的空氣排放。當我們再次向樞紐設施前進時，液體排放量為零。我們沒有熱處理器。因此，這不僅與我們的客戶想要看到的東西密切相關，而且與世界各地的社區和政府想要看到的東西密切相關。因此，我們非常有信心能夠繼續從這一總體趨勢中受益。

The other 2 factors that I would add on is the domestic supply. And we talked about Europe and we talked about South America just now. But of course, here in North America, the need to be able to produce materials domestically is growing in terms of critical consciousness at government levels, at the customer level, the groups that actually make the batteries and need the materials. They're highly aware of the need for domestic supply. And then the final thing is one thing that we're really seeing a move towards in, particularly in Europe, is the need for recycled materials. So you overlay all of these things and then you have on top of that a push with the battery directive to include recycled material, a minimum amount in the batteries that are produced and go into vehicles and other end product users. So we see a whole range of (inaudible) that are highly beneficial for our industry, and we continue to leverage that as we build out our network.

我要補充的另外兩個因素是國內供應。我們剛才談到了歐洲和南美。但是，當然，在北美，能夠在國內生產材料的需求在政府層面、客戶層面、實際製造電池和需要材料的群體的批判意識方面正在增長。他們高度意識到對國內供應的需求。最後一件事是我們真正看到的一件事，特別是在歐洲，是對回收材料的需求。因此，您將所有這些內容疊加起來，然後在此基礎上推動電池指令包括回收材料，即生產並進入車輛和其他最終產品用戶的電池中的最低數量。因此，我們看到了一系列對我們的行業非常有益的（聽不清），我們在構建網絡時繼續利用它。

And just as a brief follow-up. So your 2 new spoke facilities announced in the past 24 hours. One is co-located, the other is standalone. As you continue to rollout new locations, do you think that you'll favor one strategy versus the other? What should we expect?

並作為一個簡短的後續行動。因此，您在過去 24 小時內宣布了 2 個新的輻條設施。一個是共存的，另一個是獨立的。隨著您繼續推出新的地點，您認為您會偏愛一種策略而不是另一種嗎？我們應該期待什麼？

Thanks, Brian. I'll start and then Tim should add on. So I think it's a mix of both. And as we articulated in the presentation, we have co-located and merchant. However, one thing that doesn't change amongst all of that is we're always looking for a contracted baseload to feed the facility, to drive the ultimate black mass production to that of course coming to our facility. So whether it's proximally located, customer calling the merchant, quote/unquote, taking supply from numerous different suppliers or co-located as a captive source, for example, co-located with mega-factories. That first principle doesn't change associated with contracted baseload.

謝謝，布賴恩。我會開始，然後蒂姆應該補充。所以我認為這是兩者的混合。正如我們在演示文稿中所闡述的那樣，我們有共同地點和商人。然而，在所有這一切中沒有改變的一件事是，我們一直在尋找合同的基本負載來滿足設施的需求，以推動最終的黑色大規模生產，當然要進入我們的設施。因此，無論是就近定位、客戶致電商家、報價/取消報價、從眾多不同供應商處獲取供應，還是作為專屬來源位於同一地點，例如與大型工廠位於同一地點。第一個原則不會隨著合同基本負荷而改變。

And I'd just add to that, I mean, having an existing network of facilities where we can actually bring customers to our facility to show them what they're doing, we're able to give the confidence. And we went through this process with Ultium and LG and GM whereby we had to demonstrate that we actually do what we say that we -- effectively we do what we say that we do. And that confidence is one of the critical aspects. Of course, bring any additional operation onto new -- onto an existing site with an existing business is something that they take extremely seriously. And so as Ajay said, it will continue to be a mix and the benefit of our technology is we have that flexibility to be able to go directly onto the site with minimal impact and be able to do it in a safe and efficient way or we can be a standalone facility and service a range of customers as we do, for example, in Kingston and Rochester.

我只想補充一點，我的意思是，擁有一個現有的設施網絡，我們實際上可以將客戶帶到我們的設施，向他們展示他們在做什麼，我們能夠給予信心。我們與 Ultium、LG 和 GM 一起經歷了這個過程，因此我們必須證明我們確實做到了我們所說的——實際上我們按照我們所說的去做。這種信心是關鍵方面之一。當然，將任何額外的操作帶到新的 - 到具有現有業務的現有站點上是他們非常重視的事情。正如 Ajay 所說，它將繼續是一個混合體，我們技術的好處是我們具有靈活性，能夠以最小的影響直接進入現場，並且能夠以安全有效的方式進行，或者我們可以是一個獨立的設施，像我們一樣為一系列客戶提供服務，例如在金斯敦和羅切斯特。

We will take our next question from P.J. Juvekar with Citi.

我們將與花旗一起回答 P.J. Juvekar 的下一個問題。

Just a couple of questions. First, on the Rochester hub, you upsized that to 35,000 tons of black mass, and you talked about being within budget for capital. But we are seeing labor shortages. We are seeing sort of raw material inflation. The Fed is talking about it. Are you seeing any of that in all the construction that you are doing? Is labor an issue? Can you just talk about what you're seeing out there in real conditions there?

只是幾個問題。首先，在羅切斯特樞紐，您將其擴大到 35,000 噸黑色物質，並且您談到在資本預算範圍內。但我們看到勞動力短缺。我們正在看到某種原材料通脹。美聯儲正在談論它。你在你正在做的所有建築中都看到了這些嗎？勞動力有問題嗎？你能談談你在那裡看到的真實情況嗎？

Yes. No problems, PJ, happy to answer that. And so let me address it in 2 parts. In relation to materials and equipment, we identified this early in the process. And I think that was really a very critical step for the organization. And so what we did is we actually brought forward a lot of our procurement activities into the frontend of the project in order to guarantee pricing and supply. The traditional way of building a project like this would be just-in-time delivery of these materials and equipment. But because of those risks that you identified that, P.J., we went against that, and we secured a warehouse, for example, we are able to address that through our procurement strategy. Labor is another very important one as we've been going through the process of selecting our general contractor, and we expect, as Ajay said in his earlier remarks, to finalize that process in the next few weeks. We've actually gone through the process and done quite detailed labor studies, but we're also looking to work with a contractor that has the ability to impart what we call self-performed work, which provides a certain level of reassurance in relation to that labor supply. We are fortunate to be in Rochester. Rochester is the basin for the surrounding area in the Northeast. We have the ability to pull labor from Buffalo or Syracuse and other proximal cities to Rochester. So at this point in time, we don't see an issue with that, P.J. We have gone through, we've done the work. We understand what the costs are. We understand what the expected increase in inflation and cost of labor are likely to be through the project. And all of that is budgeted in our plan.

是的。沒問題，PJ，很高興回答這個問題。所以讓我分兩部分來解決它。關於材料和設備，我們在流程的早期就確定了這一點。我認為這對組織來說確實是非常關鍵的一步。所以我們所做的是我們實際上將我們的很多采購活動提前到了項目的前端，以保證定價和供應。構建此類項目的傳統方式是及時交付這些材料和設備。但是由於您發現的那些風險，P.J.，我們反對這一點，並且我們獲得了一個倉庫，例如，我們能夠通過我們的採購策略來解決這個問題。勞動力是另一個非常重要的因素，因為我們一直在經歷選擇總承包商的過程，正如 Ajay 在早些時候的講話中所說，我們預計將在接下來的幾週內完成這一過程。我們實際上已經完成了整個過程並進行了非常詳細的勞工研究，但我們也希望與能夠傳授我們所謂的自我執行工作的承包商合作，這提供了一定程度的保證。那個勞動力供給。我們很幸運來到羅切斯特。羅切斯特是東北部周邊地區的盆地。我們有能力將勞動力從布法羅或錫拉丘茲和其他鄰近城市拉到羅切斯特。所以在這個時間點上，我們沒有看到這有什麼問題，P.J. 我們已經經歷了，我們已經完成了工作。我們了解成本是多少。我們了解通過該項目可能會導致通貨膨脹和勞動力成本的預期增長。所有這些都在我們的計劃中進行了預算。

And then the Ohio plant is co-located with Ultium Cells. Is that under a long-term take-or-pay contract because it is co-located? Is that sort of a strategy different than your other spokes? And then as you expand into Europe and go into Germany, would you look for similar partners as you did in Norway?

然後俄亥俄工廠與 Ultium Cells 位於同一地點。因為它是在同一地點，所以這是長期照付不議的合同嗎？這種策略與您的其他輻條不同嗎？然後當你擴展到歐洲並進入德國時，你會像在挪威那樣尋找類似的合作夥伴嗎？

Thanks, P.J. I'll take that one. It's Ajay. So this co-location is basically an augmentation of our existing contract that was announced last year with Ultium. And just to elucidate a little bit, when we do this, of course, as I articulated, we want contracted baseload feed. So we want the access to the manufacturing rejects, the outlaws that's being kicked off. And that's a critical part of our overall equation. In December, we announced, of course, the forthcoming transaction with LG. That is extremely transformative to the business. And so these are the anchor partners that we're growing with, whether it be broadly speaking, from a high level, North America, Europe and around the world. So the Ultium co-location is not quite different in that regard. I would just say it's an augmentation and a very exciting augmentation of us being a captive co-located recycler. For Europe, in general, again, as I said, same strategy. We have a mix of different supply sources in Norway, for example, that's both end of life, largest EV market in the world from a penetration perspective and manufacturing scrap. So whenever we make these decisions to site, we'll always be looking to who are those anchor partners that justify from our perspective, the reason to go there. And that doesn't change if that's co-located or if it's merchant or on a standalone basis.

謝謝，P.J. 我會拿那個的。是阿傑。所以這個託管基本上是對我們去年與 Ultium 宣布的現有合同的擴充。只是為了說明一點，當我們這樣做時，當然，正如我所闡明的那樣，我們需要收縮的基本負載饋送。因此，我們希望獲得製造廢品的機會，這些不法之徒正在被開除。這是我們整體方程式的關鍵部分。去年 12 月，我們當然宣布了即將與 LG 進行的交易。這對企業來說是極具變革性的。所以這些是我們共同成長的主要合作夥伴，無論是從廣義上講，來自北美、歐洲和世界各地的高水平。因此，Ultium 託管在這方面並沒有太大的不同。我只想說這是對我們作為俘虜同地回收商的一種增強和一種非常令人興奮的增強。總的來說，對於歐洲，正如我所說，同樣的策略。我們在挪威擁有多種不同的供應來源，例如，這既是報廢產品，也是從滲透角度來看世界上最大的電動汽車市場和製造廢料。因此，每當我們在網站上做出這些決定時，我們總是會尋找那些從我們的角度證明是合理的錨合作夥伴，以及去那裡的理由。如果它是在同一地點，或者它是商家還是獨立的，這不會改變。

And we will take our next question from Robin Fiedler with BMO Capital Markets.

我們將回答來自 BMO 資本市場的 Robin Fiedler 的下一個問題。

My first question is on geographic expansion plans. Clearly, there's a shift to North America and Europe. Now is it fair to assume that if the feedstock can be secured that the vast majority or even all of the 2025 capacity targets can be met with North America and Europe?

我的第一個問題是關於地域擴張計劃。顯然，正在向北美和歐洲轉移。現在可以公平地假設，如果原料可以得到保障，那麼北美和歐洲就可以實現 2025 年的絕大多數甚至全部產能目標嗎？

I'll start on that and perhaps Tim can start on. Yes, so we were very conscious today. I think folks would have picked up to very clearly reiterate our 2025 targets. One thing we've been saying is, I think, folks have been attuned to in the past quarters or months is the market is shifting and our customers are shifting, demand is shifting, and they're being nimble. And a lot of that has to do with pronounced and accelerated growth in North America and Europe as everybody has seen. So ultimately, for us, what are we doing? We're processing battery materials to generate end products and returning to the economy of the battery supply chain to drive ultimate financial return. So that doesn't change. It's a little bit agnostic of location. And so our articulation today was very, again, intentional, obviously, to focus on the near-term investments being focused and prioritized in North America and Europe. Again, just following our customers. It's all we're doing. But at the same time, you need a balanced approach. You cannot ignore that the battery epicenters of the world are in Asia Pacific, right, are important customers and those that are driving a lot of what's happening in the world are also in Asia Pacific. So there's a balanced approach, but there is a focus on where we put steel in the ground per se with assets following our customers, and we do see a pronounced shift more in North America and Europe.

我會從那開始，也許蒂姆可以開始。是的，所以我們今天非常清醒。我認為人們會非常清楚地重申我們的 2025 年目標。我們一直在說的一件事是，我認為，人們在過去幾個季度或幾個月裡已經適應了市場正在發生變化，我們的客戶正在發生變化，需求正在發生變化，而且他們正在變得靈活。正如大家所見，這在很大程度上與北美和歐洲的顯著和加速增長有關。所以最終，對我們來說，我們在做什麼？我們正在加工電池材料以生產最終產品並回歸電池供應鏈的經濟以推動最終的財務回報。所以這不會改變。它有點不可知論的位置。因此，我們今天的表述非常，再次，顯然是有意將重點放在北美和歐洲的近期投資上。再次，只是跟隨我們的客戶。這就是我們正在做的一切。但與此同時，您需要一種平衡的方法。你不能忽視世界的電池中心在亞太地區，對，是重要的客戶，而那些推動世界上發生的很多事情的人也在亞太地區。所以有一個平衡的方法，但我們關注的是我們將鋼鐵本身放在哪裡，資產跟隨我們的客戶，我們確實看到北美和歐洲發生了更多明顯的轉變。

And maybe just as a follow-up, I just want to ask a bit on near-term earnings. Maybe you can address some of the expected incremental cost year-over-year in '22 with respect to hub development and construction and also speak to how much of the black mass production will actually be attributed to sales and how much will be inventory build ahead of the hub commission next year? And then with all of that in mind, do you expect 2022 EBITDA to be better or worse than '21?

也許只是作為後續行動，我只想問一下近期收益。也許您可以解決 22 年與樞紐開發和建設相關的一些預期的同比增量成本，還可以說明黑色量產中有多少實際上將歸因於銷售，以及未來將增加多少庫存明年的樞紐委員會？然後考慮到所有這些，您預計 2022 年的 EBITDA 會比 21 年更好還是更差？

Yes, I'll start with the first one and then as needed Debbie and Tim can add on. So let me start with the black mass question. So as articulated in this webcast, we will actually continue to sell black mass for fiscal 2022. And folks should think this as at a high level when we switch that black mass into feeding the hub, it's just a diversion, right, from when we do, do that from selling it to third-parties versus being diverted to feed our hub to capture value. So in 2022, fiscal 2022, we do not see doing that. They will continue to sell. But of course, as we approach the hub, we'll continue to assess that diversion and the associated value capture vis-a-vis the fee to the hub. In terms of capital spend and high-level commentary on the year for the hub, I can start and Tim can perhaps add on to that. So we qualitatively commented in the webcast or the script that we will see an acceleration in the back half of 2022, much like what we saw in 2021. So that goes for capital spend, that goes for hub, spokes rather, the black mass we're producing. It's not, of course, peanut butter spread. It is a back half loading with a further acceleration into early 2023. So from a high level, as you think about the profile of the spend and the profile of what we're doing, it is, again, accelerating or back half loaded in the latter half of the year.

是的，我將從第一個開始，然後根據需要 Debbie 和 Tim 可以添加。所以讓我從黑人群眾的問題開始。因此，正如本次網絡廣播中所闡述的那樣，我們實際上將在 2022 財年繼續銷售黑人大眾。當我們將黑人大眾轉變為為樞紐供電時，人們應該認為這是一個高水平，這只是一種轉移，對，從我們這樣做，從將其出售給第三方而不是被轉移到我們的中心以獲取價值。因此，在 2022 年，即 2022 財年，我們認為不會這樣做。他們將繼續銷售。但是，當然，當我們接近樞紐時，我們將繼續評估這種轉移和相關的價值獲取，與樞紐的費用相比。在資本支出和樞紐年度的高級評論方面，我可以開始，蒂姆也許可以補充一下。因此，我們在網絡廣播或腳本中定性地評論說，我們將在 2022 年下半年看到加速，就像我們在 2021 年看到的那樣。所以這適用於資本支出，適用於輪轂、輻條，而不是我們的黑人群體'正在生產。當然，這不是花生醬醬。這是一個後半加載，並在 2023 年初進一步加速。因此，從較高的角度來看，當您考慮支出概況和我們正在做的事情時，它再次加速或後半加載下半年。

And Robin, maybe just to add on to that. I think there's a couple of things to layer in. In terms of capital spend, we ended the fiscal year with almost $600 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand. We're well financed for the capital projects that we've outlaid, the capital spend for the hub is accelerated in terms of the early procurement strategy, but it is a spend over effectively 2 years, and we're very conscious of that. On the OpEx side, the key thing in terms of fiscal year 2022, we are in another build yet. One of the key things is we continue to add people in order to support the growth that's needed within the organization and the operations that will be coming online in '23, particularly around the hub. So today, we stand at about 200 people, just over 200 people within the organization. We expect that to grow to approximately 400 by the end of the year as we continue to prepare to scale the operations.

還有羅賓，也許只是為了補充一點。我認為有幾件事需要考慮。在資本支出方面，我們在本財年結束時手頭有近 6 億美元的現金和現金等價物。我們為我們已經支出的資本項目提供了充足的資金，就早期採購戰略而言，樞紐的資本支出得到了加速，但這實際上是兩年以上的支出，我們非常清楚這一點。在運營支出方面，就 2022 財年而言，關鍵是我們還處於另一個構建階段。關鍵的事情之一是我們繼續增加人員，以支持組織內所需的增長以及將在 23 年上線的運營，特別是在中心周圍。所以今天，我們大約有 200 人，組織內只有 200 多人。隨著我們繼續準備擴大業務規模，我們預計到今年年底將增長到大約 400 個。

Yes. I'll just bring that together back to your question, Robin, on EBITDA. Look, I think we've provided the key building blocks get there, including production, including a lot of our dollar spend as Tim just articulated is going to be heavily on CapEx. The folks think about this year something key to pay attention to. And then as Tim just articulated, the other piece is, what are the drivers of the OpEx as well? We provided the building blocks from our perspective to get to that color.

是的。羅賓，關於 EBITDA 的問題，我將把它結合起來。看，我認為我們已經提供了關鍵的構建模塊，包括生產，包括我們的大量美元支出，因為蒂姆剛剛明確表示將大量依賴資本支出。人們認為今年需要注意的關鍵點。然後正如蒂姆剛剛闡明的那樣，另一部分是，OpEx 的驅動因素是什麼？我們從我們的角度提供了構建塊來獲得那種顏色。

And we will take our next question from Daniel Ives with Wedbush.

我們將回答 Daniel Ives 和 Wedbush 的下一個問題。

So, can you hit on -- when we think about some of the conversations you're having with the OEMs, specifically in the U.S., can you just compare and contrast where that is today to maybe even a year ago, just seeing what we're watching from an EV perspective?

所以，你能不能說一下——當我們考慮你與原始設備製造商的一些對話時，特別是在美國，你能不能比較一下今天和一年前的情況，看看我們的情況'從電動汽車的角度看？

Thanks, Dan, and I appreciate the question. Yes. I think the tone has shifted to further and further proactive, further and further pulling investments forward, activity forward, care about recycling because of all the things we actually spoke about at the beginning of the call or the Q&A here rather. And so it's a big shift. I mean, over the last year, say even 2 years ago, recycling was important, I think, as they were thinking through electrification strategy end-to-end. It was always part of the thinking. But in some ways, until you start making batteries and generating scrap and we've heard some of our customers saying that they realize that getting into battery making, as a result, makes scrap and you actually de facto get into recycling business, not in terms of recycling themselves, but the need for recycling. So I think as that's all been actually physically realized, there's been an acceleration in the desire and the tone to need to be very proactive on that front. And then what happens is you scan the market and you say, well, who's doing this, right? Who actually has access on the ground, technology combined with strong commercial partnership has been validated, and that all takes time, right? You can't just, the recycler say, you're going to do this and then that facility and get batteries. The market is not necessarily very broad for the parties that can actually fulfill that. So we continue to see strong benefit. We are in the right place with the right technology and the right commercial partnerships that are taking time to get there to benefit from that tone change and that mindset change that's evolved over the last year plus.

謝謝，丹，我很欣賞這個問題。是的。我認為語氣已經轉變為越來越積極主動，越來越多地推動投資，推動活動，關心回收，因為我們在電話會議開始時或這裡的問答中實際談到的所有事情。所以這是一個很大的轉變。我的意思是，在過去的一年裡，甚至在 2 年前，我認為回收利用很重要，因為他們正在考慮端到端的電氣化戰略。它始終是思考的一部分。但在某些方面，直到你開始製造電池並產生廢料，我們聽到我們的一些客戶說他們意識到進入電池製造，結果，製造廢料，你實際上進入回收業務，而不是自己回收條款，但需要回收。因此，我認為這一切實際上都已在物理上實現，在這方面需要非常積極主動的願望和基調正在加速。然後發生的事情是你掃描市場然後你說，好吧，誰在做這件事，對嗎？誰實際上可以訪問，技術與強大的商業合作夥伴關係已經得到驗證，而這一切都需要時間，對吧？回收商說，你不能只做這個，然後做那個設施，然後得到電池。對於能夠真正實現這一目標的各方來說，市場不一定非常廣闊。因此，我們繼續看到強勁的收益。我們處於正確的位置，擁有正確的技術和正確的商業合作夥伴關係，這些合作夥伴關係需要時間才能從這種基調變化和過去一年中不斷演變的思維方式變化中受益。

And so when you use them in a competitive process, like just how important is it, Tim, in hub and spoke and obviously the Rochester build-out, it seems like on target for '23. Like how big is that when there's so many other competitors going after some of the same opportunities? Maybe you could just -- easier if you could just give us without naming the customer, like some real-life examples of competitive process.

因此，當您在競爭過程中使用它們時，蒂姆（Tim）在輪轂和輻條中以及顯然是羅切斯特的擴建中的重要性，這似乎是 23 年的目標。當有這麼多其他競爭者追逐一些相同的機會時，這有多大？也許您可以 - 如果您可以在不命名客戶的情況下直接提供給我們，例如競爭過程的一些真實示例，那麼您可能會更容易。

Yes, not a problem, Dan. I mean I think one of the great examples there is what we announced with LG. I mean that we talked before a lot about the tailwinds that are driving -- at the moment is security of raw materials. And so what we're seeing is our ability and the fact that we're now in construction and we're moving forward with our hub in Rochester, that has become a key factor for us to be able to negotiate these contracts. I see the holes in their supply chains coming forward as they continue to announce new plants and want to bring on more cell manufacturing capacity, and they see us as a way of filling and clog that gap that they have. So I would say it's critical. People often ask us, Daniel, what's more important, is it the spoke or the hub? It's really hard. I mean, you need the funnel, you need to be able to receive and process those battery materials on the front end. But the hub is the enabler that ensures that they're able to in fact meet that gap in terms of the critical materials.

是的，沒問題，丹。我的意思是我認為最好的例子之一就是我們與 LG 宣布的內容。我的意思是我們之前談了很多關於推動的順風 - 目前是原材料的安全性。所以我們看到的是我們的能力以及我們現在正在建設中的事實，我們正在推進我們在羅切斯特的中心，這已成為我們能夠談判這些合同的關鍵因素。我看到他們的供應鏈中的漏洞正在出現，因為他們繼續宣布新工廠並希望帶來更多的電池製造能力，他們認為我們是填補和堵塞他們所擁有的差距的一種方式。所以我會說這很關鍵。人們經常問我們，Daniel，什麼更重要，是輻條還是輪轂？這真的很難。我的意思是，你需要漏斗，你需要能夠在前端接收和處理這些電池材料。但樞紐是確保他們能夠在關鍵材料方面真正滿足這一差距的推動者。

And we will take our next question from Ben Kallo with Baird.

我們將與貝爾德一起回答 Ben Kallo 的下一個問題。

I just want to know maybe following on Dan's question there, just about the discussions with customers and not to name any names, but how has that evolved because you signed several different ones, but how have the terms on that evolved, if you can talk about like fixed volumes or pricing, is it the same? Or has it changed over time? That's my first question.

我只是想知道丹在那裡的問題，只是關於與客戶的討論，而不是說出任何名字，但這是如何演變的，因為你簽署了幾個不同的，但如果你能談談，條款是如何演變的就像固定數量或定價一樣，是一樣的嗎？還是隨著時間的推移而改變？這是我的第一個問題。

Thanks, Ben, and happy to address that. It's Ajay. So I would say, as Tim just said, we just continue to find ourselves in better and better position, vis-a-vis the steps we've taken on the technology now being commercially operational, should be prepared to take that volume. And so that bodes extremely well when you have a lot more material than there is actually homes for it to go to. And that's frankly what's happening now some ways, and it will continue. We're seeing us needing to keep up and continue our build-out associated with that ongoing cell manufacturing base, which is a lot of our material over the course of the coming years. So we have not seen to be clear and address the question. We've not seen a deterioration in terms, we haven't seen it getting worse. We're in a great position. What I would say, on the back of that, I think as we go forward, for the economics of the business, one thing to remind folks of is we also have an inherent hedge on the specialty materials, sometimes when we're getting, for example, manufacturing scrap, it is priced typically at different (inaudible) depending on the material form, the price based on the content of those materials at a fixed (inaudible) discount typically. And then we're making and then reproducing ultimately those materials to go back to the supply chain. So it sounds like we have a high fixed cost base that is going to be in big trouble if prices go at a different place. Of course, we're in a very bullish market for critical (inaudible). But we have an inherent hedge in the business no matter what, that we benefit ultimately and can move as those critical material trends evolve.

謝謝，本，很高興解決這個問題。是阿傑。所以我想說，正如蒂姆剛才所說，我們只是繼續發現自己處於越來越好的位置，相對於我們在商業運營技術上所採取的步驟，應該準備好接受這個數量。因此，當您擁有的材料比實際可以去的房屋多得多時，這預示著非常好的兆頭。坦率地說，這就是現在在某些方面正在發生的事情，並且會繼續下去。我們看到我們需要跟上並繼續與正在進行的電池製造基地相關的建設，這是我們未來幾年的大量材料。所以我們還沒有看到清楚並解決這個問題。我們沒有看到情況惡化，也沒有看到情況變得更糟。我們處於一個很好的位置。我想說的是，在此基礎上，我認為隨著我們的發展，為了企業的經濟利益，要提醒人們的一件事是，我們對特種材料也有固有的對沖，有時當我們得到時，例如，製造廢料，通常根據材料形式以不同（聽不清）定價，價格基於這些材料的含量，通常以固定（聽不清）折扣。然後我們製造並最終複製這些材料以返回供應鏈。所以聽起來我們有一個很高的固定成本基礎，如果價格在不同的地方出現，就會遇到大麻煩。當然，我們處於非常看漲的關鍵市場（聽不清）。但無論如何，我們在業務中都有一個內在的對沖，我們最終會受益，並且可以隨著這些關鍵材料趨勢的發展而變化。

Yes. And just to add on to that, Ben, in terms of the trend that we're seeing on the customer side, we're definitely seeing an increase in sophistication and a move towards this model, which is much more favorable from our perspective, as Ajay said, to provide that natural hedge.

是的。此外，Ben，就我們在客戶方面看到的趨勢而言，我們肯定會看到復雜性的提高和向這種模式的轉變，從我們的角度來看，這種模式更加有利，正如 Ajay 所說，提供自然對沖。

And just on that front, what type of contract lines are people willing to sign? And has that changed?

就在這方面，人們願意簽署什麼樣的合同條款？那改變了嗎？

Yes. It's multiyear, I'd say actually it keeps getting even better. Folks would have seen in December, that's a 10-year contract that we're in the process of finalizing with LG. So the lengths have actually, broadly speaking, either stayed the same or continued to grow. And I think that speaks to what they're trying to get at, which is security of supply back and also security of home for the material to go to be dealt with as they continue to ramp.

是的。它是多年的，我想說實際上它變得越來越好。人們會在 12 月看到，這是一份為期 10 年的合同，我們正在與 LG 敲定。因此，從廣義上講，長度實際上要么保持不變，要么繼續增長。而且我認為這說明了他們試圖達到的目標，即供應安全以及隨著他們繼續增加而處理材料的家庭安全。

And sorry if I missed this, but the LG is, I think, focused on nickel. And I just wanted to understand how this is different than other stuff on what you do with the other -- with the hub in Rochester, why it's only nickel? Do you sell that to lithium and cobalt and other materials to other people? Or is it just -- you're just using that off-take to produce lithium, I mean, to produce nickel, apologies?

對不起，如果我錯過了這個，但我認為 LG 專注於鎳。而且我只是想了解這與您對其他東西所做的其他事情有何不同-在羅切斯特的樞紐中，為什麼只有鎳？你把它賣給鋰、鈷和其他材料給其他人嗎？還是只是-您只是在使用該承購量來生產鋰，我的意思是，生產鎳，道歉？

Yes. Great question. Just to clarify, so 100% of our volume from the Rochester hub will be going to (inaudible) for lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. So that's contracted. What we produce will be bought. This agreement with LG and then any other downstream where it goes and then comes back to the supply chain, to be clear, is actually downstream in practice. However, we have the ability and we work closer, access to allocate the product for those. So that's just a little bit of the flow. In terms of why nickel for LG, a lot of their chemistries in their production base is high nickel and since there is a focus on nickel. That said, it does not preclude us from exploring other opportunities, broadly speaking, on other materials.

是的。好問題。澄清一下，我們羅切斯特樞紐的 100% 體積將用於（聽不清）鋰、鎳、鈷、錳和石墨。所以就簽約了。我們生產的將被購買。與 LG 達成的協議，然後是任何其他下游，然後再回到供應鏈，明確地說，實際上實際上是下游。然而，我們有能力和我們更緊密地合作，為這些人分配產品。所以這只是一點點流程。至於為什麼 LG 使用鎳，他們生產基地中的許多化學物質都是高鎳，因為他們專注於鎳。也就是說，這並不妨礙我們在其他材料上探索其他機會。

And we will be reducing cobalt as a material -- sorry, we will be producing cobalt as other materials. There's nothing special about the LG material that precludes us from producing the respective amounts of cobalt and lithium and the like.

我們將減少鈷作為一種材料——抱歉，我們將生產鈷作為其他材料。 LG 材料並沒有什麼特別之處可以阻止我們生產相應數量的鈷和鋰等。

And my final one is just on the Koch relationship. You called that out for them helping with the procurement, maybe engineering in Europe. Is that going to be the status quo going forward? Or is that because of the location? And does that have any impact on your current operations? So I think you had kind of a build and ship facility for the spoke before.

我的最後一個只是關於科赫的關係。你呼籲他們幫助採購，也許是歐洲的工程。這會是未來的現狀嗎？還是因為位置的原因？這對您當前的運營有什麼影響嗎？所以我認為你以前有過用於輻條的製造和運輸設施。

No, it's an add-on basically, Ben. So as we see it in Kingston through our own build facility that you're referring to, we have the ability to produce approximately 6 spoke facilities per year from that facility. The benefit of working with Koch is that they have a large engineering team. We had to update some of the engineering aspects to make a compliance with our European standards, which they're helping us with. And we're continuing to work with them as a secondary outlet to take some of that pressure off. We have a lot of plans to build in the years to come and having that additional bandwidth on the build capacity, we see as being highly valuable.

不，它基本上是一個附加組件，Ben。因此，正如我們通過您所指的我們自己的建造設施在金斯敦看到的那樣，我們有能力從該設施每年生產大約 6 個輻條設施。與 Koch 合作的好處是他們擁有龐大的工程團隊。我們必須更新一些工程方面以符合我們的歐洲標準，他們正在幫助我們。我們將繼續與他們合作，作為第二個出口來減輕一些壓力。我們有很多計劃在未來幾年內進行建設，並且在建設能力上擁有額外的帶寬，我們認為這是非常有價值的。

And we will take our next question from Jeff Osborne with Cowen & Company.

我們將向 Cowen & Company 的 Jeff Osborne 提出我們的下一個問題。

Just a couple of quick ones on my end, a lot of content on the call here. Circling back to the CapEx commentary, I think on the prior call, with the LG contract, you had mentioned the total CapEx was $485 million for the hub facility. Can you give us a sense of maybe 1/3 of that is in '22 and 2/3 in '23 or any type of scope?

我這邊只有幾個快速的，這裡有很多內容。回到資本支出評論，我認為在之前的電話會議中，與 LG 合同，您提到樞紐設施的總資本支出為 4.85 億美元。你能給我們一個感覺，大概 1/3 在 '22 和 2/3 在 '23 或任何類型的範圍內？

Yes. So I'll start maybe, Jeff, and maybe Tim can add on. So I'd say, for sure, this is a big build year, broadly speaking, back half loaded in the latter half of '22. We have decided, of course, that the facility is targeted to be commissioned or commissioning in 2023. So that is unchanged. But just as a general comment, this is a build year. Tim wants to add to that.

是的。所以我可能會開始，傑夫，也許蒂姆可以補充。所以我肯定地說，這是一個重要的建設年，從廣義上講，後半部分在 22 年下半年加載。當然，我們已經決定該設施的目標是在 2023 年投入使用或投入使用。所以這沒有改變。但正如一般性評論，這是建設年。蒂姆想補充一點。

Yes. So I think that it's reasonable to assume that the majority of the materials will be -- and equipment will be bought in FY '22. One of the things that we will be providing in the future is more detailed updates in terms of how we're progressing on spend and completion. But as you look at the breakdown, I would say that focus on the materials and equipment in FY '22. Of course, we'll be -- we'll have people, the general contract will be well underway here in the next couple of months. It's definitely front loaded 2022.

是的。因此，我認為可以合理地假設大部分材料將在 22 財年購買——並且設備將被購買。我們將在未來提供的一件事是關於我們如何在支出和完成方面取得進展的更詳細的更新。但是當您查看細分時，我會說重點是 22 財年的材料和設備。當然，我們會——我們會有人，總合同將在接下來的幾個月內順利進行。這絕對是 2022 年的前置任務。

I think on the same call last month, you had referenced pursuing government funding. Have you submitted any applications or had any discussion with the American government about funding for the facility?

我認為在上個月的同一個電話會議上，您提到了尋求政府資助。您是否已提交任何申請或與美國政府就該設施的資金進行過任何討論？

Yes, I can touch that. So I can't comment on specific opportunities, but maybe Debbie can add there if she wants just on broader balance sheet strategy. But vis-a-vis, for example, DoE, we would potentially fit well for something like that, but I won't comment on any specific programs. And Debbie may add here a little bit to the broader strategy.

是的，我可以觸摸它。所以我不能對具體的機會發表評論，但如果黛比想要更廣泛的資產負債表戰略，也許她可以在那裡補充。但是相對於，例如，DoE，我們可能很適合這樣的事情，但我不會評論任何具體的項目。黛比可能會在這里為更廣泛的戰略添加一些內容。

Jeff, the intention is to take a look at -- so we're working on multiple options for funding. And what will be important for us is to prioritize next to our non-dilutive options. So in the end, what we really need to do is build the flexible balance sheet here that funds us for the future goals. So we have a balance sheet right now that funds us for all the CapEx and all the plants, including Germany, that we just talked about. With our current balance sheet, but what we really need to do based on what both Ajay and Tim said earlier, is beyond that to how we build a structure that's flexible, supportive for this great opportunity that's ahead of what we've already committed to.

傑夫，我們的目的是看看——所以我們正在研究多種資金選擇。對我們來說重要的是優先考慮我們的非稀釋性選項。所以最後，我們真正需要做的是在這裡建立靈活的資產負債表，為我們未來的目標提供資金。所以我們現在有一個資產負債表，為我們剛剛談到的所有資本支出和所有工廠（包括德國）提供資金。以我們目前的資產負債表，但根據 Ajay 和 Tim 之前所說的，我們真正需要做的不僅僅是我們如何建立一個靈活的結構，支持這個超越我們已經承諾的巨大機會.

The last one I had is just the commentary around 2022 and the production relative to the time of the SPAC. Is the delta there solely just the pace of spoke additions and what's operational versus under construction? Or are there any other aspects that we should be aware of?

我的最後一個只是 2022 年左右的評論以及相對於 SPAC 時間的製作。三角洲是否僅僅是輻條添加的速度以及正在運營的和正在建設的？或者還有其他我們應該注意的方面嗎？

I like that number that we put out and everything we do now, it's all fiscal year. It's all in the October 31. So I'll say that I think, yes, folks can go back and see, of course, we focused on what's moving forward, but there was a different time basis here, I believe, calendar year originally. Just a function of time.

我喜歡我們發布的那個數字以及我們現在所做的一切，都是財政年度。一切都在 10 月 31 日。所以我想說，是的，人們可以回去看看，當然，我們關注的是前進的方向，但我相信這裡有不同的時間基礎，最初是日曆年.只是時間的函數。

And we will take our final question from Evan Silverberg with Morgan Stanley.

我們將向摩根士丹利的埃文·西爾弗伯格提出最後一個問題。

Evan on behalf of Adam Jonas. When we think about the newly announced spokes, are you kind of seeing the same type of cost inflation that you're seeing with the announcement of the upsized Rochester hub? If I think back a couple of months ago when you talked about spoke costs, I believe, like incremental spoke was like $6 million to $10 million total. Any commentary there would be helpful.

埃文代表亞當喬納斯。當我們考慮新宣布的輻條時，您是否看到與宣布擴大的羅切斯特輪轂相同類型的成本膨脹？如果我回想幾個月前當你談到輻條成本時，我相信，像增量輻條一樣，總共需要 600 萬到 1000 萬美元。那裡的任何評論都會有所幫助。

I'll start and Tim can add. I think the short answer is no, not as pronounced, and there's, of course, very different plants. They're lump-sum, turnkey, like a build style and Tim can add here.

我會開始，蒂姆可以添加。我認為簡短的回答是否定的，沒有那麼明顯，當然，還有非常不同的植物。它們是一次性的、交鑰匙的，就像一種構建風格，Tim 可以在這裡添加。

I would say that the other aspect is that we have made technical improvements to the plant to be able to bring down the capital intensity. I'll give you a direct example on that is that traditionally, we were focused on 5,000 tons per year of battery materials as being a single or what we call a single line processing facility. We've been able to make advancements, and we're now moving forward with a 10,000 tonne per year single-line facility. And that really has helped bring down that capital intensity even lower than where it was before. So we expect to be able to continue to benefit from economies of scale on the spoke side as the industry continues to expand, and we can deploy larger facilities and larger assets, we expect to be able to make further improvement to that.

我想說，另一方面是我們對工廠進行了技術改進，以降低資本密集度。我將給你一個直接的例子，傳統上，我們專注於每年 5,000 噸電池材料作為單一或我們所說的單線加工設施。我們已經取得了進步，現在我們正在推進一個年產 10,000 噸的單線設施。這確實有助於將資本密集度降低到比以前更低的水平。因此，隨著行業的不斷擴張，我們希望能夠繼續從輻條方面的規模經濟中受益，我們可以部署更大的設施和更大的資產，我們希望能夠進一步改善這一點。

There are no further questions in queue. This concludes today's Li-Cycle Holdings fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings call and webcast. Please disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day.

隊列中沒有其他問題。今天的 Li-Cycle Holdings 第四季度和 2021 年全年收益電話會議和網絡直播到此結束。請在此時斷開您的線路，並祝您有美好的一天。