Canada to recycle asbestos waste for EV batteries

May 07, 2025

A Canadian decarbonization startup has launched a groundbreaking project to build the world’s largest facility for processing asbestos mine tailings into materials used in electric vehicle batteries and for permanently storing carbon dioxide.

Backed by both private investors and the Québec government, Montreal-based Exterra Carbon Solutions raised about USD 14.5 million (CAD 20 million) to build Hub I, the world’s largest facility for repurposing asbestos mining waste.

The plant will reportedly be located in Val-des-Sources – formerly known as Asbestos, Quebec – home to the infamous Jeffrey Mine, once the world’s largest open pit asbestos mine that produced half of the global supply.

Repurposing asbestos waste
Fireproof, durable, and cheap, asbestos was hailed as a miracle mineral, until its widespread use unraveled into one of the biggest public health crises of the 20th century as workers in mines and factories showed high rates of lung issues.

Ever since, inhaling asbestos fibers has been shown to cause fatal diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and COPD, prompting widespread bans and leaving behind a lasting legacy of toxic waste.

Now, with the new initiative, the company believes it can safely neutralize the asbestos fibers found in the leftover mining waste and convert the material into valuable, carbon-neutral products.

These include low-carbon metal oxides like magnesium oxide, used in agriculture, water treatment, and pharmaceuticals, as well as nickel concentrate, a critical material in the manufacturing of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

However, one of the most innovative parts of Exterra’s approach is its carbon capture method, which relies on a proprietary one-step process that locks CO₂ directly into processed minerals – eliminating the need for a separate capture system.

The technique, known as mineralization – a process by which carbon dioxide becomes a solid mineral – could sequester carbon dioxide for millennia and play a major role in global decarbonization efforts.

Mining a new tomorrow

To move beyond theory, Exterra tested its technology in a pre-commercial pilot in Val-des-Sources. The full-scale facility, set to break ground in 2027, aims to process over 300,000 tons of asbestos mine tailings (AMT) each year.

With Quebec alone holding an estimated 800 million tons of asbestos mine tailings after it stopped mining the toxic material in 2012, the facility will have enough raw material to operate for more than 2,000 years.

Olivier Dufresne, CEO and co-founder of Exterra Carbon Solutions, said the company’s mission is to integrate the mining industry into the circular economy as part of the solution to the carbon crisis.

“We are currently developing a pre-commercial facility in Val-des-Sources that will tap into Québec’s 800 million tons of asbestos mine tailings – about a third of all AMT in North America,” Dufresne said in a press release. “Our technology to revitalize mine sites will transform the local industry and can be scaled globally.”

Powered entirely by renewable energy, Hub I will operate with a carbon-neutral footprint. If successful, the company hopes it could serve as a model for similar operations worldwide, particularly in regions grappling with the health and environmental fallout of past asbestos mining.