Recovering critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel is challenging; however, it becomes an environmentally friendly proceeding with the electro-extraction process developed by Nth Cycle; convinced of this, investors support the Company.
By 2030, there will be over 15 million tonnes of lithium-ion batteries ready for recycling, containing over $18 billion worth of cobalt. This problem is a significant opportunity for recyclers.
Clean electro-extraction technology
With the energy transition, the industries need a more reliable critical mineral supply; but the financial and environmental costs are the barrier to the success.
By April 2022, Nth Cycle will demonstrate its technology. The electro-extraction proceeding allows recyclers and miners to recover material from batteries, ores, and mine site waste.
The cleaner uses electricity and carbon filters. It is a lower-cost alternative, unlike the conventional and prohibitively dirty pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy operations.
On one side, pyrometallurgy requires energy-intensive furnaces that fill entire warehouses. On the other side, hydrometallurgy runs minerals through cycle upon cycle of harsh chemicals, creating massive amounts of chemical waste.
This extraction process disrupts China’s dominance in mining and refining critical minerals, helping to expand the circular supply chain for the clean energy transition.
Furthermore, Nth Cycle is changing the critical mineral supply chain necessary for electric vehicles, solar power, and energy storage through groundbreaking recycling, mining, and refining technology.
Customizable on several points
Nth Cycle system has a small and modular design that enables the usage in remote locations; the installation on site is easy to ensure compliance; it can fast scale up as demand increases.
Also, the system removes the risks of transporting Li-ion batteries, besides enabling additional recovery and mineral upgrading at existing mine sites.
Electro-extraction can also tune to a variety of inputs, accepting a wide range of mine tailings, cathode materials, and other e-waste.
Electro-extraction in Mining
For the mining sector, Nth Cycle uses electro-extraction. The system is based on an electrochemically-modified filter press, combining both filtration and electrowinning into one unit used at the mine site.
This operation uses low voltages and has high current efficiencies, reducing energy costs and footprint for upgrading materials.
In addition, the in-situ base production reduces the need for highly caustic chemicals; as a result, the waste, potential hazards, and greenhouse gas emissions are minor.
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Sharing the vision
On the other hand, investors and partners share Nth Cycle’s vision; they all look for a domestic supply chain of critical minerals.
As there is no simple way to satisfy the need for electrification and decarbonization operations without extensive use of technologies, Nth Cycle’s project is the more successful option.
Additionally, the proposal will help to improve the economics and environmental impact of how the industry extracts minerals.
Closing the financing
To achieve this goal, Nth Cycle announced the closing of its $12.5 million Series A financing, co-led by Frankstahl and Volo Earth.
Frankstahl is one of the largest privately-held steel distribution companies in Europe, and Volo Earth, is a Colorado-based venture firm focused on climate solutions.
Other investors in the financing are global commodities powerhouse, Mercuria, MassMutual through the MM Catalyst Fund, and the previous investor Clean Energy Ventures.
Towards the transition
After the first financing signals in 2021, Nth Cycle scaled its technology and began efforts to deploy systems commercially.
The enterprise expects to announce customer deals soon; besides, it doubled the size of its team and tripled the footprint of its Beverly, MA headquarters.
Finally, some funds will be used to create the first commercial units at recycling facilities and expand Nth Cycle’s technical and development staff in 2022.
Read more about Nth Cycle.
