Singapore-based lithium-ion battery recycling company Green Li-ion has raised US$20.5 million in pre-Series B funding from a group of investors, including decarbonisation VC firm TRIREC, Banpu NEXT, and Equinor Ventures. The funding will help the company scale its manufacturing to deliver 50 Green Li-ion modular units per year, which will be used to recycle and reuse all metals from used lithium batteries, producing battery-grade cathode material, graphite, and lithium carbonate for use in new batteries. Green Li-ion’s first commercial operation is set to start production in H1 2023 in Oklahoma.
Green Li-ion has raised US$20.5 million in pre-Series B funding from a group of investors, including decarbonisation VC firm TRIREC, Banpu NEXT, and Equinor Ventures. The other investors in the round are EDP (Portugal), Envisioning Partners (Korea), SOSV (US), ER-V (UK), DPI Energy Ventures (Singapore/Japan), Entrepreneur First (UK), TES (Singapore), LINICO (US), Decarbonisation Consortium (US), ISDonseo (Korea), MBEP (US), and GS (Korea).
In April 2022, Green Li-ion raised US$11.55 million in Series A funding, led by Energy Revolution Ventures, and approximately a year earlier, it raised US$3.45 million in seed funding. The company has raised approximately US$36 million to date. The pre-Series B funding will help the company scale its manufacturing to deliver 50 Green Li-ion modular units per year.
Green Li-ion has developed a novel technology that processes 100% of all used lithium batteries, recycling and reusing all metals to directly re-manufacture battery-grade cathode material. Its technology will be among the first in the US to produce battery-grade precursor cathode active material, graphite, and lithium carbonate from spent lithium-ion batteries. The Green Li-ion units are manufactured in Houston, Texas, and can process four to six metric tons of end-of-life batteries per day, producing precursor cathode active material at battery grade.
Green Li-ion’s recycling technology is an important step in delivering the first US-made cathode material from battery waste and closing a crucial loop for the battery industry. Melvyn Yeo, Managing Partner at TRIREC, stated that battery rejuvenation technology is a crucial part of the electrification journey, solving a critical battery material supply crunch problem by reintroducing raw materials into the manufacturing process. The company, with a presence in the US, Europe, and Australia, has raised approximately US$36 million to date and is set to start its first commercial operation in H1 2023 in Oklahoma.
