TDK Ventures has invested in R3 Lithium as part of the company’s $15 million Series A funding round, supporting the expansion of domestic lithium carbonate recovery from recycled battery materials.

R3 Lithium owns and is upgrading a commercial-scale lithium carbonate recovery facility in Covington, Georgia, where production of recycled lithium carbonate was demonstrated in 2025 before R3 Lithium acquired the facility.

The 154,000-square-foot plant is designed to use a calciner-based crystallization and water-based precipitation process to extract and refine lithium carbonate directly from recycled black mass. R3 Lithium is targeting continuous commercial production in 2027.

The facility currently has 30,000 metric tons of battery shredding capacity and a 2,500-metric-ton lithium carbonate recovery line, with space available to double capacity.

R3 Lithium is focusing initially on lithium carbonate rather than attempting to recover several battery materials simultaneously. Feedstock shredding and refining are planned at the same site, with lithium carbonate recovered for reuse and the remaining concentrated metal oxides available for further processing.

The company has also established long-term offtake agreements with counterparties including Trafigura.

TDK Ventures previously invested in the technology’s initial development under Battery Resourcers, now Ascend Elements. Its new investment follows R3 Lithium’s restructuring and plans to bring the Georgia facility into continuous commercial operation.

TDK Ventures also plans to explore technical collaboration between R3 Lithium and TDK business units with expertise in process control, power systems, sensing, and manufacturing quality.

R3 Lithium’s Covington operation is intended to expand U.S. lithium recovery and refining capacity by converting recycled battery material into lithium carbonate that can re-enter the battery supply chain.

Written by By Michelle Froese at EV Engineering
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