Millions of dollars have recently flowed to two battery recycling startups. | fizkes/Shutterstock
Two Northeast U.S. battery recycling startups recently received substantial investments to help them scale up.
Boston-based Nth Cycle received $3.2 million in seed funding from Clean Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage climate technology startups.
Nth Cycle’s electro-extraction technology can extract critical metals, such as cobalt, from batteries, e-scrap, low-grade ore and mine tailings. According to a press release, the technology, which uses only electricity and carbon filters, is an alternative to conventional pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy processes. The extraction technique was developed at Harvard and Yale universities.
The seed funding will help the company execute its “technology roadmap and deploy several pilot projects with recyclers and mine operators early next year,” the release states.
Meanwhile, in nearby Worcester, Mass., Battery Resources has completed a $20 million Series B equity round that drew investments from a number of organizations. Battery Resources describes itself as a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing company.
Battery Resources’ technology recycles a mixed stream of lithium-ion battery scrap into finished, battery-ready nickel-manganese-cobalt-based cathode active materials, according to a release. The company is targeting used electric vehicle batteries.
The financing will support the development of a commercial-scale facility with the capacity to process 10,000 tons of batteries a year, the release stated. The company currently has a facility in Novi, Mich.
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