Cirba Solutions CEO Urges Congress to Halt Critical Mineral Exports

Klanecky highlighted the strategic danger of allowing end-of-life batteries and gigafactory scrap to be exported for overseas processing, a practice he described as a vulnerability that undermines American industrial strength. By keeping these materials within the country, the U.S. can leverage its own processing capacity to recover essential lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

To meet a projected demand of nearly 500,000 metric tons of lithium by 2030, Cirba Solutions has aggressively expanded its operations in Lancaster, Ohio. The facility has increased its capacity to process Black Mass—the shredded intermediate material from spent batteries—by 600 percent since 2023. Klanecky urged lawmakers to prioritize the classification and domestic retention of these materials, framing the recovery of critical minerals as a cornerstone for both economic competitiveness and the long-term security of the nation's manufacturing base.