Earlier this year, about 35 miles east of downtown Atlanta, the production lines at a plant that recycled electric vehicle batteries fell silent after its corporate parent filed for bankruptcy.

Now, the same factory is coming back to life with new ownership and big plans to turn battery scrap into a major domestic source of a critical material used to power EVs and battery storage systems.

R3 Lithium, a new battery material recovery and refining firm, says it plans to restart production of lithium carbonate — a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries — at a shuttered factory in Covington. R3 acquired the 154,000-square-foot facility in July for an undisclosed amount from Ascend Elements, after the latter filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this spring.

By Drew Kann

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