Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a lithium-ion battery recycling company, closed $30 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. Funding was secured from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Samsung’s corporate venture arm, and Helium-3 Ventures. Existing investors, such as Honda Motor, LKQ Corporation, SCG Group, Traxys Group, and Wistron Corporation, also participated in this round.
The deal follows the company’s $10.3 million funding round, which was raised last month from SCGC, a subsidiary of SCG Group, Tech Council Ventures, and a subsidiary of LKQ Corporation. In total, the company has raised over $55 million, including multiple U.S. Department of Energy grants of $18 million and $7.9 million through seed and angel rounds.
The funds will support the construction of its first standalone, full-scale direct battery recycling manufacturing facility, which will be announced later this month.
PNE’s patented low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process (LPAS) produces battery-grade cathode and anode materials that can be directly reintroduced into cell manufacturing. The company claims that its technology can recover up to 95% of materials from all lithium-ion battery chemistries, reduce energy consumption by 70%, and lower costs by over 40%.
“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, PNE’s Co-Founder and CEO.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2024 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, VC funding for Energy Storage companies increased by 9% YoY, with $1.2 billion in 23 deals in Q1 2024 compared to $1.1 billion raised in 19 deals in Q1 2023.
Cylib, a Germany-based battery recycling startup, last month secured €55 million (~$59.79 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by World Fund and Porsche Ventures. The round was joined by Bosch Ventures, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, NRW.Venture, existing investors Vsquared Ventures, Speedinvest, 10x Founders, and established business angels.
