Gopher Resource Receives 2023 BCI Innovation Award

Minnesota Firm Recognized for Innovative Recycling and Waste Valorization Process 

Gopher Resource has been awarded the 2023 BCI Innovation Award. Battery Council International (BCI) annually presents this award to celebrate innovation in equipment, processes, services and products that advance the lead battery industry. The award was established to honor Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz, former CEO of East Penn Manufacturing Co. and industry thought leader.

Gopher Resource is an industry leading environmental solutions provider focused on transforming waste lead batteries into reusable materials. The company is committed to protecting the environment and contributing to a circular economy by creating innovative solutions that further the battery recycling industry’s goals of waste minimization, water reuse and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation.

The award recognizes Gopher Resource’s patent-pending SCRUM process, or Slag Cleaning and Recovery of Useful Metals process. The SCRUM process uses furnace fuming technology to separate the tin and lead into a concentrated fume form with very high selectivity and efficiency, leaving behind a “cleaned” bulk iron sodium-silicate “SCRUM Slag.”

Gopher Resource’s innovative process separates 99% of useful metals from lead blast furnace slags, producing LME-grade tin and lead bullion that can be refined and used in new batteries. The remaining SCRUM Slag is an environmentally-friendly byproduct that can be repurposed and shows promising potential for commercialization. The ability to recover these metals from lead battery recycling slag in a safe, economically feasible way is an industry first.

“Gopher Resource is honored to be recognized for an innovation that significantly advances our vision of becoming a zero-waste industry,” said Joe Grogan, Chief Technology Officer for Gopher Resource. “The SCRUM process not only reduces our solid waste stream up to 99%, it pays for itself through waste valorization — an industry first and a key component of a circular economy.” 

“Gopher Resource's win of the 2023 BCI Innovation Award highlights the incredible strides being made in the lead battery industry towards sustainability and innovation," said Roger Miksad, President and Executive Director of BCl. "The recognition of Gopher Resource's SCRUM process is a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential for meaningful impact when we prioritize sustainable practices in our industries."

To learn more about the Gopher Resource SCRUM Process, watch this short video. 

To learn more about the Innovation Award, click here.

About Battery Council International

Battery Council International (BCI) will soon celebrate its 100-year anniversary as the leading trade association of the North American battery industry representing more than 125 member companies. Formed in 1924, BCI joins together battery manufacturers and recyclers, marketers and retailers, suppliers of raw materials and equipment, and battery distributors from across North America and around the world. BCI members are committed to responsible manufacturing and recycling processes, and serve as a unified voice for environmental, health and safety stewardship. The organization continues to unite members within the lead industry to successfully communicate and protect through education, science, and government efforts the most successful circular economy on the planet. With 99% of used lead batteries collected and recycled in the U.S. and the typical new lead battery containing 80% or more of recycled content, BCI supports the path toward similar sustainability goals for all other battery chemistries. For more information visit www.batterycouncil.org.

About Gopher Resource

Gopher Resource is a leading national environmental solutions provider whose core business is the safe recycling of lead batteries, followed by select household waste recycling. Through innovative facilities in Tampa, FL, and Eagan, MN, the company helps prevent over 26 million spent automotive, industrial and stationary batteries from going into landfills each year and ensures their reuse into valuable, new consumer products.