Atlas Materials, a producer of battery-grade nickel, raised $27 million in a Series A funding round supported by climate technology investors, including the Grantham Environmental Trust and Voyager Ventures, amongst others.
The proceeds will be used to complete the design and engineering work in preparation for the company’s first commercial-scale plant- Electra- in North America, which is expected to enter production in 2027.
“Technologies such as those developed by Atlas will be vital to building the foundation of a decarbonized global economy and a livable future for all. Our further investment in Atlas will enable Atlas to advance its plans towards the construction of a first commercial plant which will produce ultra-low carbon nickel to meet the requirements of the automotive industry as it works to decarbonize,” said Sarah Sclarsic, Founding Partner of Voyager Ventures.
Electra is expected to produce 1,800 tons of nickel in MHP, an intermediate battery material, as well as saleable quantities of magnesium hydroxide (+99% pure) and supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) that can be used to abate emissions from other industries.
“The ability to produce battery-grade materials and by-products from saprolite ores with CO2 emissions far below any other available technologies and zero waste means that the Atlas Process is unique. The Atlas Process has the potential to become the dominant technology for converting saprolite ores into battery-grade nickel,” said Dr. David Dreisinger, CTO and co-founder of Atlas.
According to Mercom’s 1H And Q2 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid. VC funding for Energy Storage companies was also up in Q2 2023 with $2.7 billion in 24 deals, a 148% increase QoQ compared to $1.1 billion in 19 deals in Q1 2023. With strong tailwinds from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), energy storage companies across the supply chain, from materials to project developers, have attracted investors.
Recently, Mitra Future Technologies (Mitra Chem), a lithium-ion battery materials manufacturer, completed a $40 million first close of a $60 million Series B funding round, which is expected to help the company develop and commercialize iron-based cathode materials.
