Trail Plant

Cirba Solutions (formerly Retriev) · Trail, Canada · Black mass

Battery recycling plant operated by Cirba Solutions (formerly Retriev) in Trail, Canada. Status: operational.

Trail Plant: recycling plant illustration with pack, shredder, black mass, leach tanks and salt bags; Black mass, status operational, Canada Black mass Operational Canada
Capacity
8,000 t/yr
Process
Mechanical + hydrometallurgy
Output
Black mass
Hub
Supply Chain

Status

Operational: status carried from the legacy record

Process: mechanical + hydrometallurgy. Capacity: 8,000 t/yr (Legacy figure; not re-verified).

North America's longest-operating Li-ion recycler; Trail BC and Lancaster OH; NiMH and Li-ion; established collection network; black mass producer feeding downstream refiners.

Customers and offtakers: Multiple OEMs and cell makers.

Plant record

Plant record

Trail Plant (Cirba Solutions (formerly Retriev))
CompanyCirba Solutions (formerly Retriev)
PlantTrail Plant
CityTrail
State or provinceBritish Columbia
CountryCanada
TypeRecycler
Processmechanical + hydrometallurgy
Output stageblack mass
Input chemistriesAll Li-ion, NiMH
Output productsBlack mass + material recovery
Capacity (t/yr input)8000
Capacity basisLegacy figure; not re-verified
Statusoperational
Status noteStatus carried from the legacy record; not re-verified; Retriev merged into Cirba Solutions
Scalecommercial
Start year1992
Investment (US$ billion)0.1
Customers and offtakersMultiple OEMs and cell makers
Under EU Battery RegulationNo
Geopolitical exposureLOW
Record updated2026-10

Official site: cirbasolutions.com

In context

Where it fits

Listed in EV Battery Recycling Facilities. Recyclers are compared on where they stop: shredding to black mass, smelting to alloy, or refining to battery-grade salts that go back into cathode plants; only refining keeps the metal in the region. See Battery Recycling for the process and the market.

Other plants of Cirba Solutions (formerly Retriev) and other plants in Canada
PlantCountryStatus
Kingston Spoke (Glencore (formerly Li-Cycle))Canadaoperational
Montreal Hydromet Plant (Lithion Recycling)Canadaoperational
Burnaby Second Life Plant (Moment Energy)Canadaoperational
Ontario Direct Recycling Hub (Electra Battery Materials)Canadaunder construction

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Trail Plant (Cirba Solutions (formerly Retriev))
Sources
ElectronsX recycling dataset; company disclosures
Updated
2026-10