, /PRNewswire/ — The United States is at a turning point to take decisive action on strengthening the country’s national security, reducing reliance on China for critical minerals and positioning the U.S. as a leader in the global energy economy. Cirba Solutions, the North American leader in battery recycling and critical mineral recovery, is at the forefront of this conversation. The company’s President & CEO, David Klanecky, testified before the United States House Committee on Energy’s Subcommittee on Environment to provide real-world industrial insight on legislation supporting domestic critical mineral recovery and recycling.
On June 24, 2026, Klanecky provided expert commentary on the challenges the battery recycling industry faces related to the export of end-of-life (EOL) batteries and gigafactory scrap out of the U.S. for overseas processing (primarily in China); how Black Mass, an intermediate material produced when lithium-ion batteries are shredded and processed, is classified; and how diversifying the country’s supply chains can lead to long-term resilience and international competitiveness that create domestic jobs and economic strength for our country.
Today, China controls an estimated 70 – 90 percent of global critical mineral processing, depending on the specific mineral. This includes materials that power defense applications, energy storage systems, data centers, consumer electronics, and more.
Allowing, and in certain cases incentivizing, the export of EOL batteries and gigafactory scrap, particularly when we have capable processing capacity, is not just an economic vulnerability – it’s a national security crisis,” said David Klanecky, President & CEO of Cirba Solutions. “Representatives Gary Palmer (R-AL), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Paul Tonko (D-NY) and other distinguished members of the Committee are driving initiatives to encourage investments in manufacturing and battery materials supply chains, increasing domestic capacity to process these materials and growing the circular economy through battery recycling and the recovery of critical minerals. Advancing these markets is essential to ensuring U.S. resilience, safeguarding national security and maintaining strategic leadership on the global stage.”
Battery recycling is one of the fastest and most cost-effective paths to diversifying supply chains and breaking the nation’s dependency on China. Cirba Solutions recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese from EOL batteries at a commercial scale to be put back into the battery supply chain. By 2030, the projected demand for lithium will hit nearly 500 thousand metric tons. To help support this demand, the company has been addressing the processing gap for end-of-life lithium batteries and gigafactory scrap through its large-scale expansion in Lancaster, Ohio. To-date, the lithium-ion processing and materials recovery site has increased capacity to process Black Mass by 600 percent since 2023.
“If we are serious about reducing dependency on foreign sources and expanding access to critical minerals, we must recognize the importance of intermediate products like Black Mass and how these materials are essential to America’s manufacturing base and national security future,” said Klanecky.
Through battery recycling and critical mineral recovery, Cirba Solutions is helping to build the infrastructure needed to strengthen national security, manufacturing and domestic supply chains.
About Cirba Solutions
Cirba Solutions is a premier battery recycling company in North America, focused on critical material extraction from scrap and end-of-life batteries, and then supplying those materials back into the supply chain. Cirba Solutions is the only vertically integrated team with an operational, differentiated platform and a full suite of capabilities. www.cirbasolutions.com
Follow Cirba Solutions on LinkedIn
SOURCE Cirba Solutions
