PRINCETON, N.J., June 17, 2024 — Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a leader in lithium-ion battery direct recycling furthering America’s circular economy, today closed a Series A funding round with a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Samsung’s corporate venture arm, investing in breakthrough technologies across industries and from Helium-3 Ventures. Investor demand for this 50% oversubscribed round brought PNE’s Series A total to $30 million. Samsung Venture and Helium-3 join the round’s previous investors, including Honda Motor Co. Ltd., LKQ Corporation, SCG Group, Traxys Group, and Wistron Corporation.
The funds will support construction of PNE’s first standalone, full-scale direct battery recycling advanced manufacturing facility, which will be announced later this month. In total, the company has raised over $55 million, including multiple U.S. Department of Energy grants totaling $18 million and a $7.9 million seed & angel round.
Commercializing technology initially developed at Princeton University, PNE’s flagship innovation will be instrumental in driving America’s circular economy for battery recycling, one where materials stay in-country, from consumption through reuse, to recycling and remanufacturing.
PNE is commercializing a lithium-ion battery recycling process that is significantly faster and less costly than traditional recycling while dramatically reducing environmental waste and carbon emissions by 70%. Unlike traditional battery-recycling processes which use significantly greater amounts of power, water and often generate difficult to manage toxic byproducts, PNE’s patented low-temperature, plasma-assisted separation process (LPAS™) recovers up to 95% of materials found in all lithium-ion battery chemistries, reduces 70% energy consumption and lowers the cost 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. “This funding enables us to implement and demonstrate our capabilities at commercial scale, helping America meet the growing demand for high-performance batteries while also creating high-quality clean energy jobs.”
About Princeton NuEnergy
Princeton NuEnergy (PNE) is an advanced manufacturing leader in lithium-ion battery direct recycling, furthering America’s circular battery economy. Founded out of Princeton University and named to Time Magazine’s “America’s Top Greentech Companies 2024”, PNE is revolutionizing the critical materials supply chain with its patented direct recycling technology for lithium-ion batteries. PNE’s patented low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process (LPAS™) produces battery-grade cathode and anode materials suitable for direct reintroduction into cell manufacturing at half the cost and a much lower environmental footprint than conventional methods. The company has received over $55 million in grants, strategic and venture funding including investments from Honda Motor Co. Ltd., LKQ Corporation, Samsung Venture, Shell Venture, Traxys Group, Wistron Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Energy. For more information, visit www.pnecycle.com.
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SOURCE Princeton NuEnergy
