Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a lithium-ion battery recycling company, announced the initial closing of its Series A funding round, raising $16 million. The round was led by Wistron Corporation, with participation from new investors, including Honda Motor, GS Futures, and Traxys North America, along with previous investors, including Greenland Technologies, Shell Ventures, and WorldQuant Ventures.
The company plans to use the funding for new recycling facility construction and equipment procurement to further increase processing capacity and support operations.
“As the world navigates the challenges of sustainable energy and responsible technology disposal, PNE remains dedicated to driving innovative solutions that have a positive impact,” stated PNE Founder and CEO Dr. Chao Yan. “This Series A funding round represents a major step towards realizing our vision of a cleaner, greener future through cutting-edge lithium-ion battery recycling technology.”
“Princeton NuEnergy has an innovative concept and technologies for lithium-ion battery recycling, and Honda has high expectations for their future potential. The plasma-based direct recycling technology will enable the sustainability of the EV battery supply chain and, as Honda strives to achieve 100% use of sustainable materials by 2050,” said Manabu Ozawa, Managing Executive Officer of Honda Motor Co.
The company has previously raised $7 million in a seed round along with multiple research grants for battery recycling from the U.S. Department of Energy, most recently for $12 million and $4.4 million.
According to Mercom’s 9M And Q3 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, VC funding for battery recycling companies totaled $1.6 billion in Q3 2023 compared to $1 million raised in two deals in Q2 2023. The report also highlighted that the Energy Storage market received $8.6 billion from 68 VC deals in 9M 2023, which is a 115% rise from the same period in 2022, with $4 billion from 74 deals.
Recently, Circu Li-ion, a battery recycling startup, raised €8.5 million (~$9 million) in seed funding. The funding includes €4.5 million (~$4.8 million) in equity, which was led by BonVenture, and additional backing from an undisclosed investor.
