Good day, everyone. My name is Todd, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the second quarter, 2023 Li-Cycle Holdings earnings call and webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question at that time, please press star one on your telephone keypad. If you should need operator assistance, please press star zero. Thank you. I will now turn the call over to Nahla Azmy, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning, and thank you everyone for joining us today for Li-Cycle's review of our business and financial results ended June 30, 2023. 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. On this call, management will be making statements based on current expectations, plans, estimates, and assumptions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Li-Cycle.
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 Ajay.
Thank you, Nahla, and good morning, everyone. I'm excited to discuss the progress our team has made during the second quarter as we continue to advance the implementation of our Spoke & Hub network strategy. Li-Cycle continues to capitalize on strong secular trends and supportive government policy. Our plans to grow our network will position Li-Cycle to become the top global recycling producer of lithium carbonate and key battery-grade materials, establishing Li-Cycle in a leading role in the electrification ecosystem. Beginning with slide three, I would like to cover some of the key highlights of our progress, which we'll discuss in greater detail in this call. On the commercial front, we signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate and explore lithium-ion battery recycling solutions with EVE Energy, one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery cell manufacturers.
From an operational perspective, we continue to build strong momentum for our Spoke & Hub business. At our Rochester Hub in North America, we significantly advanced construction with continued expectation of the start of commissioning in late 2023. For the development of the Portovesme Hub, our first in Europe, we progressed to work on the definitive feasibility study with Glencore and expected to be completed by mid-2024, and our first European spoke began operations with the startup of line one in August, with line two expected to follow in late 2023. Finally, on the financial front, we're also pleased to report that we are at the final stages of completing our process with the DOE Loan Programs Office, or LPO, and expect to close the $375 million loan in September 2023.
Turning to slide four, I'll discuss Li-Cycle's global Spoke & Hub portfolio and our continued progress in executing on our global network growth strategy. As illustrated on the left of this slide, with significant gigafactory capacity projected to come online, we expect to see meaningful demand growth for recycling of all forms of lithium-ion batteries in both North America and Europe. Aligning with key battery supply chain customers, we're expanding our global commercial footprint by strategically localizing our network close to demand centers and customers. Based on this current portfolio, we expect to achieve pre-processing capacity in excess of 100,000 tons of lithium-ion battery equivalent and post-processing capacity of 85,000-105,000 tons of black mass per year.
Importantly, and to put it into context, once the Rochester and Portovesme hubs are in full operation, these facilities will have total lithium carbonate production capacity of up to 25,000 tons per year. With this first-mover advantage, Li-Cycle is uniquely positioned to become a leading global and sustainable producer of lithium carbonate and other key battery-grade materials. Turning to slide five for a discussion on the EVE MOU and Hungary Spoke site selection. EVE is one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery cell manufacturers, with global facilities and customers that include major OEMs such as BMW and Bosch. In July, we entered into an MOU for global sustainable recycling solutions for EVE's lithium-ion battery materials. Consistent with our Spoke strategy, capital investments are underpinned by multiyear commercial contracting, combined with accelerating local market demand.
Accordingly, we're excited to be exploring site selection in Hungary with expected scope, scale, and timing to be completed by early 2024. EVE, with its recently announced plans to build its first European battery manufacturing facility in Hungary, will serve as an anchor customer. Additionally, we expect to add OEM customers in the region, given Hungary is projected to be one of the largest battery cell manufacturing markets in Europe by the end of the decade. Let me now turn it over to Tim for a more detailed update on our Spoke & Hub network.
Thanks, Ajay. Turning to slide six, we are thrilled to share an updated aerial view of the Rochester Hub. This image illustrates the significant construction progress that has been made since our 1st quarter call in May. Our continued execution on the Rochester Hub project is a testament to the talent, expertise, and commitment of the Li-Cycle team. I'll provide a more detailed perspective on the next few slides. Turning to slide seven. We are nearing completion of our major process buildings for nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Within the cobalt building, mechanical equipment has now started to be set. The warehouse building, which was completed in May, has received a certificate of occupancy. Our operations team have moved into the building, and we are prepping their storage area to start receiving black mass as part of our inventory build plan. Turning to slide eight, to discuss our major construction achievements.
As displayed in the photos, going clockwise, we are pouring concrete foundations for tanks, installing the main pipe rack, which is a critical activity for the plant commissioning, as it is the main artery of the plant. Building the finished products building, where we will bag key end products before moving them to the warehouse for transport to customers. Finally, and importantly, the lithium building foundations are now well underway. Turning to slide nine, to cover the procurement of our long lead process equipment and bulk materials. To recap, early on, we indicated that a key aspect of our construction strategy was to accelerate the procurement of long lead equipment and construction materials, such that they would arrive on site well ahead of when they were needed.
Ultimately, this has proven to be a significant advantage in terms of our ability to execute on major construction milestones and maintain our project schedule. Displayed on this slide, going clockwise, our solvent extraction equipment and crystallizers are now on site at the Rochester Hub. Additional key equipment and bulk materials are also on site and ready for installation. Finally, you see an impressive image of the largest piece of equipment being installed. Critical for the hub operations, the crystallizer is part of the sodium sulfate production process, critical for the recovery of lithium carbonate. Turning to slide 10 for closing comments on the Rochester Hub. With detailed engineering and procurement activities near complete, our main near-term priority is the continued ramping up of the construction labor to support the remaining installation activities.
As we've stated on prior calls, we are focused on actively managing the construction labor in order to continue to execute relative to the construction budget of $560 million. With expected annual production of 7,500-8,500 tons of lithium carbonate, 42,000-48,000 tons of nickel sulfate, and 6,500-7,500 tons of cobalt sulfate, the Rochester Hub will be a leading source of battery-grade materials in North America. Turning to slide 11, I'll provide an update on the Portovesme Hub. Together with our partner, Glencore, we are repurposing part of Glencore's existing hydrometallurgical site in Portovesme, Italy. Once operational, this facility is expected to be one of the largest producers of battery-grade lithium carbonate in Europe.
We are actively progressing the scope on the DFS, which is anticipated to be completed by mid-2024. Portovesme site is a strong fit with Li-Cycle's proprietary black mass refining process for the recovery of lithium and battery-grade materials. There are a number of benefits for executing this project at this site, including the use of existing infrastructure and equipment that can be repurposed for black mass processing, optimization of an existing workforce with experience in metallurgical operations, and access to logistics infrastructure that will facilitate the movement of large volumes of black mass and end products. As shown on the left of the slide, I'll touch briefly on the proposed process at the Portovesme Hub site. We have an expedited flow sheet that requires fewer processing steps to produce lithium carbonate and a mixed metal product of nickel and cobalt.
At a high level, at the beginning of the process, we start with black mass leaching to dissolve metals into solution. Following impurity removal for iron and aluminum, the next step is the removal of manganese, followed by the production of a mixed hydroxide product or MHP, containing nickel and cobalt. The final key step involves the recovery of battery-grade lithium carbonate.... This flow sheet differs from our processing approach at the Rochester Hub, where we'll produce battery-grade nickel and cobalt products, i.e., nickel and cobalt sulfates, which attract a higher value for battery manufacturing. The MHP process for the Portovesme Hub allows an accelerated path to production and provides additional flexibility for use within Glencore's existing refining assets or precursor producers for battery manufacturing.
The Portovesme Hub is expected to have an annual processing capacity of up to 70,000 tons of black mass, producing up to 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate, 18,000 tons of nickel, and 2,250 tons of cobalt contained in MHP. To reiterate, once both the Rochester and Portovesme Hubs are fully operational, these facilities will have a total combined lithium carbonate production capacity of up to 25,000 tons per year, making us a top global and sustainable producer of lithium carbonate and other key battery-grade materials. Turning to slide 12 for an update on our European spoke. In early August, we announced the start up of line one at our Germany spoke.
This spoke utilizes Li-Cycle's patented and environmentally friendly Generation 3 technology to directly process all forms of lithium-ion battery materials, including full electric vehicle battery packs, without the need for discharging, dismantling or thermal processing. Once all lines are complete, the spoke will be one of the largest pre-processing facilities in Europe and the largest within Li-Cycle's network, having an annual total processing capacity of 30,000 tons. As a reminder, Germany represents the largest market for both battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries in Europe. Supported by multiple commercial contracts with battery and EV manufacturers, we are targeting commissioning of line two in late 2023. I would like now to hand it over to Debbie for a financial review.
Thank you, Tim. Turning to slide 13 for a discussion on our second quarter results. As seen on the top left of the chart, we produced 1,719 tons of black mass, more than double the level achieved in the prior year, driven by the startup of operations at our Arizona and Alabama spokes and the upgrades to our New York spoke. Sales of black mass were 2,093 tons, 2.5 times more than the 832 tons in the prior year. Moving to revenue for the period. As a reminder, our revenues are influenced by market prices of metals contained in our products, notably cobalt and nickel, with no value attributed to lithium content at this time, as we continue to sell black mass as an intermediate product.
Revenue from product sales and recycling services before non-cash fair market value adjustments increased to $5.5 million from $4.7 million in the prior year. While we deliver higher product sales volume from our expanding base of operations, these results were impacted by a decline in metal prices, namely cobalt and nickel. Total revenue was $3.6 million compared to nil in the prior year. Total revenue included an unfavorable non-cash fair market value adjustment of $1.9 million in the quarter, compared to $4.7 million in the prior year period, which took the total sales value for second quarter 2022 to nil. The main purpose of our Black mass production is to utilize it as feedstock for our hubs, which produce lithium, cobalt, and nickel products, unlocking significant incremental value.
The sale of Black mass is an interim strategy in the lead up to the start of operations at our hubs. The operationalization of our Rochester Hub will represent a significant inflection point in Li-Cycle's revenue and financial profile. Turning to slide 14 for an update on our progress on the DOE loan. We continue to build on our track record of timing, strategic and competitive financing in support of our network expansion plans. In late February, we announced a conditional loan commitment of $375 million from the Department of Energy, further validating our position as a domestic supplier of battery-grade materials in the U.S. The loan will be for a term of 12 years and will be based on the applicable 10-year Treasury rate with no spread.
As AJ noted earlier, we made great strides and advanced the loan documentation to final stages, depicted here at stage 5 in the DOE LPO process. We are excited to share that our loan agreement is now working its way through the DOE's interagency process. We're expecting to close the transaction in September 2023. Turning to slide 15 for an update on our cash flow and a review of the strength of our balance sheet. During this second quarter, we invested $78 million in our network growth, focused on the Rochester Hub, ending the period with nearly $290 million of cash on hand. Adding the loan commitment of $375 million from the Department of Energy will take our current pro forma cash balance to more than $650 million.
Turning to slide 16 to reaffirm our 2023 business outlook metrics. For our production of black mass, with our year-to-date results, we are well on track for our targeted annual production, pacing with market and customer needs. To reiterate, we are looking to optimize our future black mass production to meet feed stock needs for the startup of our Rochester Hub, unlocking future value of lithium carbonate and other battery-grade materials. As a result, we intend to start building black mass inventory in the second half of 2023. Regarding capital investment, we expect to allocate a total of $285 million-$345 million for the development of the Spoke & Hub network. Due to the timing on construction of the Rochester Hub, this will be more heavily weighted to the second half of 2023.
Finally, we are working closely with the DOE LPO team for a targeted close of the $375 million loan this September. Turning to slide 17 for closing. We remain focused on continued optimization of our Spoke & Hub strategy, currently aligning with commercial demands. We remain focused on continued execution, completing the Rochester Hub, with commissioning commencing late 2023. Growing our global Spoke & Hub network, specifically exploring a new Spoke site in Hungary and progressing the Portovesme Hub, setting us up to be a leading global and sustainable lithium carbonate producer with capacity of up to 25,000 tons per year. Expanding and diversifying commercial relationships with key global battery supply chain participants, such as with EVE Energy, and increasing financial flexibility for our network growth plans, with the DOE loan expected to close this September. That concludes our formal remarks.
Operator, we are ready to take questions.
At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. If you wish to remove yourself from the queue, you may do so by pressing star two. We remind you to please pick up your handset for optimal sound quality. We'll take our first question from Brian Dobson with Chardan Capital Markets.
Hi, good morning.
Hey, Brian, good morning.
Hey, good morning. As we near the completion of the, of the Rochester Hub facility, do you think you could give us a little bit of color on what that kind of build-up ramp for earnings will look like once the facility opens its doors to process b lack mass?
Yeah. I think, I think there's a couple of phases here. We've communicated a couple of these things. The first is commissioning. Of the good news today, as we continue, is reiterating the start of commissioning end of this year. Certainly as we get through that and close to that, that's going to be an important topic, both the commissioning phase and the ramp-up phase. Suffice to say, more to come. I will say that, you know, this is something that we can, we can chat about. There are industry benchmarks, you know, for these style of facilities, for metallurgical facilities. Just one thing to keep in mind is obviously we're a resource recovery recycling facility, leveraging a lot of those off-the-shelf unit operations.
We extensively piloted, but obviously at a much smaller scale for, say, mining. A lot of those benchmarks are for mining projects. Thus, only caution associated with taking it, verbatim. In the interim, there are these benchmarks that you can look at to get a sense of directionally, the ramp-up style. Happy to chat about that more, but just as a general reference.
Yeah, very good.
Sure.
You know, as you're thinking about Italy, certainly in Rochester, you had a lot of positive local and national government support about developing a, a facility in the region. How, how is your relationship with local authorities in Italy, and do you see similar, similar support?
Yeah, at a high level, yes. I mean, this is, in collaboration with, with Glencore, so they've obviously been operating in, in Sardinia, at this location in Portovesme for a long time. And, you know public, you know, for the background, they were on a track to transition this site. And this is a great, this is a great transition. You know, this is really turning an old asset-- recycling an old asset into a new one, parts of it into our hub, our next hub, which is going to be in Europe. And that strikes a couple of, you know, key high notes for both locally and also broadly for Europe. One, locally-... And this is important, you know, they have a very skilled workforce that exists there, and this is an opportunity to transition that workforce.
That's a metallurgical workforce. It's not very often that you get that opportunity, and for us, it's also much more efficient, faster, capital efficient, more operational efficient. That's the local view. Then from a broader European view, you know, what's very strategic here, and I-- we were very intentional with this statement around us being on a track to produce up to 25,000 tons per year of lithium carbonate. I don't think folks have really taken that in, in terms of our significance over time. From that angle, domestically and broadly for Europe, this is very strategic, right down the fairway from the angle of the European Battery Regulation, from the angle of minimum recycled content, and, you know, really being first to market there with larger scale resource recovery for black mass to produce refined end products.
yeah, the short answer is yes, but that's, that's the color behind it.
Excellent. Thanks for the color. I appreciate that. Thanks very much.
Thanks, Brian.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from Ben Kallo with Baird. Please go ahead.
Hey, guys. Good morning, and congratulations on the progress. Maybe if you could just talk about I know you did your prepared remarks about the differences in the hub, and why you're making those differences. I, I heard time to market, but anything else from Europe, to Rochester? Then just how do we think about, you know, how many spokes you want to match with a, with a hub? Because you, you guys have announced a lot and built a lot and made a lot of progress on, on the spoke part. So I'm just wondering if that's more to come after, you know, Hungary or, or how we should think about that. Thank you.
Yeah, for sure. Hey, Ben. Yeah, so on the first part around the flow sheet and the way to think about this, you wanted to start to introduce this to explain... You know, it's interesting, and I'll back up a little bit for our Rochester plant. Rochester, of course, is going to be producing lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate. The core, the core difference here is really around the nickel and the cobalt. At Rochester, we're going to sulfates, which go into precursor, so really right back to the battery manufacturing industry, and they garner a higher value, as you can imagine, because it's an added form of the product versus even the metal. We actually have looked at this other path.
There's this common intermediate, which we've shown here on page 11, which is called Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate, MHP. It's a common product from, you know, primary, meaning mining and refining. Why we didn't go that path for Rochester is actually in North America, there's no real captive refining asset to take that product. Technically, economically, it made a lot more sense for us to go the path of the sulfates in Rochester. In the case of Europe, Glencore actually has a refining facility in Norway, Nikkelverk. That facility can take in intermediates and then refine it further. It's a bit of a case-by-case choice.
In this case, that's a very efficient path, you know, both in terms of the speed, but also building off one other point on that is, lastly, is we actually piloted both this flow sheet that you see for Portovesme, and the flow sheet for Rochester extensively, dating back, you know, five years ago. Effectively, we're just leveraging the work that we've already done, and the collaboration with Glencore. That's the first part around the hub flow sheet. Then on the spoke side, yeah, so you saw today that we indicated and announced that we are looking at site selection for a spoke in Hungary. Hungary is a rising star in terms of the profile of battery manufacturing in Europe. It has been actually for a while.
That's on the back of also our collaboration with EVE, the top five, 10 lithium-ion battery manufacturer. In terms of the growth from there and how you folks look to model that and understand it, I'd say a good roadmap is, you know, for example, what we've done in Germany. Our, our mode here is really looking to, first and foremost, ideally double up lines where we already have a presence, because you can imagine it's going to be much more capital efficient, faster, operationally efficient, right from the people perspective. That'd be probably a first approach for some of our existing sites, but then second and alongside that, is where we have the need to be closer to our customers. That's the whole spoke model, obviously. We'll look at new additional sites as well, for example, like, like Hungary.
It's a bit of both, as you think about how we're going to continue to expand in lockstep with customers.
Thank you. If I could just add one more. Just how do, how do we think about the, you know, building up a black mass inventory just going forward since, you know, you're getting close to commissioning in Rochester? How, how should we think about that affecting sales and-
For sure, I'll start on that, and Debbie can add on as needed. Yeah, we reiterated today that we're on track to start that inventory build in the second half here. Obviously, we've also reiterated the start of commissioning of the hub towards the end of this year. Those really go together right at the end of the day. Vis-a-vis how it affects our profile on sales and what's to come, I'll turn it over to Debbie.
Yeah. Ben, it's something we are super keen to get underway on, and it's just a question of timing. Our warehouse is ready, so we've got space to set down the inventory. It's just a case of working through our business plan, but you should expect that somewhere in this back half that we would begin to set down some inventory in preparation for the commissioning and ramp up of the Hub. What we see once we do that is we will still continue to report around our black mass production, which will be a good indication of use to how we're operating in our Spoke network. Clearly, that'll have some kind of impact as we start the ramp-up of inventory to our revenue line, as we won't be selling it anymore.
We won't go 100% right out of the gate. You know, it will be a gradual build-up of this inventory, so there will be a mix of inventory build and revenue. There are implications for, for the revenue line. This is a reminder, you know, this makes great economic sense for us because right now we do not capture any lithium value in, in selling this Black mass product. Better to set it down in inventory with the opportunity to capture that value once we've got the Hub operating.
Thank you.
Thanks, Ben.
Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from Matthew O'Keefe with Cantor Fitzgerald.
Hi. Hi, good morning. Just a question for me on the DOE loan to start with. What are the, what kind of covenants are around that? When you do get that, specifically when you do get that approved, will it be applicable to your, your build-out in, in Europe, or would it have to be only in domestic build-out in the United States?
Hey, Matthew, good morning. I'll start, and then Debbie can add on as needed. Yeah, so these are all stuck with these proceeds. It, it does have to be for the build-out in actually our U.S. business. The key to proceeds there is actually the hub. Now, a bit of a dynamic there at a high level is, you know, the eligible cost from this program is really the capital cost. Obviously, folks are tracking, we've spent a lot of that capital cost and, and more to come. The way it's going to work is we, we can actually draw against that eligible cost, and then there's more to come, and then we can continue to, to draw essentially against that, and then that can go towards...
You know, as you can imagine, as we get through the next bit, of course, there's non-capital costs too, right? There's ramp-up of working capital, et cetera. That's what that can be used for, but it's being drawn against eligible, a.k.a. capital cost. What that does for us is obviously at a Spoke level, that would have been money that we'd use from a Spoke level to fund that build at the U.S. level, so it opens up that funding to go do the next thing, and obviously, we've alluded, the next thing is really around Europe, on our side. Debbie can also add anything, either the covenants or in general.
Yeah. Good morning, Matt.
Morning.
I think my preference would be to get this loan fully closed, and then we can talk about the structure around it versus now before we've finalized the documentation, albeit that, you know, from our perspective, we've pretty much signed off on all the documentation. I think if you're looking for a guide, you can really think along a typical project financing structure. You know, those are the types of covenants that go with that type of structure that you can expect in this arrangement, albeit that it's with the U.S. government. You know, the one beautiful thing that is very different from that in a commercial bank project financing structure is that it's priced at U.S. Treasuries, and they're smooth spread.
There's a degree of flexibility, and, you know, it, it has a, you know, a long life for, for paying back, which gives us a lot of flexibility. Then the other piece that I would, I think we've mentioned this before, but I would share right now, is it is secured around those assets that we're building, right? It is secured against that hub asset, but not, but not the entire company.
Right. Okay. No, thanks. I, I just wanted That's great because it just does seem like it provides you with a great deal of flexibility. I guess that's the takeaway on this and the mechanics around it, you've explained. I appreciate that. If I could just ask one, one more question on the technical side. We've, we've seen an uptick in LFP battery chemistry going into EVs. there's these, there are LFP plants being built up and down the, the, the U.S. you guys can accept LFP, correct?
Correct, Matt. Yep.
Yeah. Okay. That doesn't really affect any, any-- I guess there's plenty of, of, nickel, nickel-based batteries as well to, to satisfy for the, at least for the next decade.
Yeah. For sure, and this is something very close to our heart. We today, as you said, and I just mentioned briefly, we accept electronic Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, LFP batteries, commercially. I'll walk through it on the way in and the way out. On the way in, from our spokes, you can imagine their, their mechanical processing facilities, so they're agnostic to the chemistry. Then for our hub, of course, we have nickel and cobalt, manganese production capability, but also looking to the hub in the Rochester can take LFP, and we're looking at a similar thing for our, for our Portovesme hub. One other aspect there on the way out is this, the whole discussion around lithium carbonate, versus lithium hydroxide.
We obviously have gone the path of producing lithium carbonate, which was a technical and risk-adjusted choice, you know, not adding too much complexity, but going to lithium hydroxide off the bat. If there were to be, and we do continue to see growth in LFP in North America and Europe, then that's good, too, from the angle of lithium carbonate demand. Lots to get into that is, as we look at the gigafactories that are online, coming online and in the pipeline for North America and Europe, it is still dominated by higher nickel chemistries. We see LFP coming in, but it's, it's gradual and even when we sensitize that to a very aggressive case, there is still quite a bit of high nickel chemistry.
As from the aspect of our customers and the feed for our hubs, we don't see that as a concern, but our key differentiator is going to continue to be being able to take battery chemistry.
Great. Thanks, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Thanks, Matt.
As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question at this time, please press star one on your telephone keypad. We'll take our next question from Jeff Osborne with TD Cowen .
Yeah, good morning. A couple questions on my side. Debbie, I, I was wondering if you could just opine on the, the operating expense level. Seems like it's, crept up, and I, I was thinking it would be a bit more flat. I was sure if you could just talk about what the allocates for the second half of the year as you move into a commissioning would be helpful.
Hi, Jeff, no problem. Yeah, I, I, I'm not really sure that I follow your, your math on it creeping up. It is a little bit complicated in the income statement, and what you really need to do is back out some non-cash expenses. I think Q1 and Q2 of this year are a good indicator for the balance of the year for, for 2023. You should expect it to be on or around that same level.
Got it. Then for Ajay, maybe on the Italy facility with the different scope, which you touched on, if, if we were stuck in an elevator and you were trying to pitch me this, you know, ahead of the feasibility study is there sort of a rule of thumb, in terms of, you know, time to market? You could do it X% faster, and then what the financial ramifications are in terms of EBITDA, you know, per ton as well as CapEx per ton, just in terms of the difference in scope, would be helpful if you could just articulate that with a bit more precision.
Sure. Hey, Jeff, I'll of course, from the back of the DFS, probably a good time to, you know, elaborate on that. I'd say, look, the bottom line is faster, it's a more streamlined flow sheet. Of course, the impact of that is you're not making a higher value nickel cobalt sulfate, but at the same time, you're providing the up to contain the nickel and cobalt to get a bit of a sense of the rough revenue range. MHP, by the way, is a pretty, pretty common intermediate. It has indexes, indices, actually, from numerous reporting agencies to give you the sense of the tables on the nickel and cobalt. Just keep in mind, again, it's not exactly the same as a, as a minor product. Bottom line, it's faster.
It's, it's tailored for Europe in terms of the collaboration with Glencore, as I talked about, around the refining facility in Norway. The capital intensity. We'd expect a lower capital intensity versus, versus Rochester. That's qualitatively, up to the full elevator pitch will be able to be enabled on the back of the full DFS results, which we're looking forward to sharing.
Got it. Then, I didn't see any reference to the, the production tax credit in the presentation. Have you been able to confirm that you'll be eligible for the 10% PTC or, and what the expectation is, the timing of that?
Yes, we, we do think, continue to think and based on engagement, that we are eligible for the 10% PTC. It does seem like the guidance on that continues to get pushed out a bit. The latest that we have on that is likely this fall to understand specific guidance, but based on our engagement today, yes, we do look to be, eligible for the 10% PTC.
Great. Thank you.
Thanks, Jeff.
Thank you. At this time, it appears we have no further questions. I'll now turn the call back to Ajay Kochhar for any additional or closing remarks.
Thank you, John. Looking back, it's, it's actually now the two-year anniversary since Li-Cycle became a public company. During that time, we delivered on our strategic plan to become the leading innovative and sustainable pure-play lithium-ion battery materials recycler and supplier of key battery-grade materials. By closing loop for the domestic supply chains in North America and Europe, we're enabling the electrification ecosystem. To recap our significant achievements, which validate our first-mover business model, we have built an unparalleled global integrated pre- and post-processing network, or Spoke & Hub network, that positions Li-Cycle to be a leading supplier of battery-grade materials, including lithium carbonate. We've entered into strategic long-term commercial arrangements with leading global players in the battery supply chain, including Glencore, Traxys, KION, VinES, EVE, LG, in addition to other OEMs.
Since being public, we've achieved competitive financings totaling $725 million, with strategic partners and government support, including Koch, LG, Glencore, and the DOE. In summary, we're extremely proud of our team with industry-leading expertise, continued successful execution, and focus on driving significant value for our shareholders. We look forward to demonstrating further progress in the coming quarters that puts Li-Cycle on a path to become a top global producer of key battery-grade materials with a leading sustainable technology and strategic partnerships. Thanks for your time, interest, and support for Li-Cycle.
This does conclude today's Li-Cycle second quarter 2023 earnings call and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time. Have a wonderful day.