Lithium battery recycling startup Renewable Metals has added $8.1 million to its coffers as an extension of its Seed round, less than 12 months after previously raising $8m.
The top up has seen existing investors, including Investible’s climate tech fund, which led the 2023 raise, Virescent Ventures and US-based philanthropic climate change investor, The Grantham Foundation.
The extension gives the company a $16.1 million war chest as it looks to expand in the UK and scale up its Australian ambitions. Its backers also include the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Renewable Metals has developed alkali-based recycling technology that enables a higher recovery of critical minerals in processing end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
This innovative process has less steps to recover nickel, copper, cobalt, lithium, and manganese, reducing costs by up to 30%, and also avoids the waste byproduct sodium sulfate. The company’s technology can recycle the full-range of lithium battery chemistries, including lower value lithium-iron-phosphate.
While rechargeable li-ion batteries are now central to everything from e-bikes to electric vehicles and smartphones, just 10% of Australia’s li-ion waste was recycled in 2021, compared to 99% of lead battery waste.
The pilot plant Renewable Metals built in Perth following the previous $8m raise to recycle up to 1,500 tonnes per year of lithium-ion battery waste has now been scaled up 10x with the fresh funds, and the startup has signed a deal with European Metal Recycling (EMR), the UK’s largest end-of-life recycler, to build a demonstration plant in Birmingham by mid-2025.
“We continue to be impressed by Renewable Metals’ clear vision and consistent execution. As the broader recycling market evolves, it’s becoming increasingly evident that Renewable Metals’ novel technology and unique growth strategy position the company exceptionally well to become a major global player in the years ahead. We are proud to support their journey and look forward to seeing the impact of their work as the world continues to electrify.”s
CEO Luan Atkinson said the round was oversubscribed, demonstrating confidence in the company’s vision and its track record.
“The continued support from investors is a strong endorsement of the company’s vision and progress,” he said.
“Getting into production at a much larger scale allows us to significantly derisk as we move to the next-stage commercial plant, which has already been generating strong interest from battery manufacturers, recycling companies, and other industry participants.”
Investible Climate-Tech investment manager Ben Lindsay said they continue to be impressed by the company’s clear vision and consistent execution.
“As the broader recycling market evolves, it’s becoming increasingly evident that Renewable Metals’ novel technology and unique growth strategy position the company exceptionally well to become a major global player in the years ahead,” he said.
“We are proud to support their journey and look forward to seeing the impact of their work as the world continues to electrify.”
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