Li-ion battery direct recycling firm, Princeton NuEnergy secures $30 million in Series A round

Lithium-ion battery direct recycling company, Princeton NuEnergy has closed the Series A funding round at $30 million with a strategic investment from Samsung Investment Corporation and Helium 3 Ventures.

In total, the company has raised over $55 million including multiple U.S. Department of Energy grants totaling $18 million and $7.9 million seed and angel round. The new funding is expected to support the construction of PNE's first standalone, full-scale direct battery recycling advanced manufacturing facility which will be announced later this month.

"The incredible interest in our Series A round, capped off by a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Helium-3 Ventures, speaks to the importance of supporting a circular economy for lithium battery manufacturing here in the U.S.," said Dr. Chao Yan, Co-Founder and CEO of PNE.

"This funding enables us to implement and demonstrate our capabilities at commercial scale, helping America meet the growing demand for high-performance batteries while also creating high-quality clean energy jobs."

PNE is involved in commercializing technology initially developed at Princeton University – one where the battery materials from lithium-ion battery recycling stay in the country from consumption through reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing. The company recycles lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, consumer electronics, energy storage batteries, and manufacturing scrap.

PNE claims its patented low-temperature, plasma-assisted separation process (LPAS™) recovers up to 95 percent of materials found in all lithium-ion battery chemistries, reduces 70 percent energy consumption, and lowers the cost by over 40 percent.

With the close of the latest funding round, Samsung Investment Corp and Helium 3 Ventures will join previous PNE investors including Honda Motor Co. Ltd, LKQ Corp, SCG Group, Traxys Group, and Wistron Corp.