Blue Whale scales up battery recycling in OK

February 27, 2026 - Resource Recycling magazine covered the capacity scale up of Blue Whale Materials’ (BWM) Bartlesville, OK recycling facility. The feature details the company’s first production of its Blacksand® thermally treated black mass and the next phase of site expansion.

Speaking with the publication, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer David Fauvre describes the launch of operations in August 2025 as an inflection point for the company. He outlines how the 50-acre facility, currently operating at an initial nameplate capacity of roughly 14,000 metric tons per year, is focused on scaling throughput while delivering a consistent, high-purity black mass engineered for hydrometallurgical refiners—positioning Blue Whale to play a growing role in the domestic battery materials supply chain.

Find the full story in Resource Recycling here.