US-based battery recycling and manufacturing services provider Battery Resourcers completed a $70m funding round yesterday featuring corporates Hitachi, Orbia, Jaguar Land Rover, Doral, TDK and Trumpf.
Hitachi Ventures, Orbia Ventures, InMotion Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, TDK Ventures and Trumpf Ventures, took part on behalf of conglomerate Hitachi, chemical producer Orbia, carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, renewable energy infrastructure developer Doral, electronics manufacturer TDK and industrial tool supplier Trumpf respectively.
Venture capital firm At One Ventures also contributed to the round, and all the participants bar Hitachi had participated in the company’s $20m series B round, which was led by Orbia Ventures in April this year. The details of its earlier funding rounds could not be ascertained.
Battery Resourcers uses a recycling process that turns used lithium-ion batteries into cathode active materials ready to be made into new batteries. It was spun out of the laboratory of Yan Wang, professor of mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in 2015.
The company will use the new funding to enhance its material production technology and expand its commercial plants, which will be operational in the US and Europe by the end of 2022.
Michael O’Kronley, CEO and director of Battery Resourcers, said: “With the influx of lithium-ion batteries hitting the market and increased demand for recycled content, the need for battery end of life solutions is more prevalent than ever.
“This most recent funding round supports Battery Resourcers’ ongoing expansion in the US and extends it to Europe to reinforce our mission of closing the loop on the battery material supply chain.”