R3 Lithium’s $15 million oversubscribed Series A funding, announced alongside the start of operations at its Covington, Georgia facility, supports the restart and upgrade of North America’s first proven commercial scale plant producing lithium carbonate from 100% recycled battery materials.
R3 Lithium’s Series A round closed at $15 million and was oversubscribed. Key participants include Integral GlobalTech Partners, TDK Ventures (TDK Corporation’s corporate venture arm, making R3 its 55th portfolio company), and Axial Partners, along with other investors.
The capital is earmarked primarily to upgrade the existing lithium carbonate production line for continuous commercial operation, targeting full ramp in 2027. The company acquired the 154,000 square foot (approximately 14,300 m²) facility in July 2026 from the prior operator (Ascend Elements / related entities), which had invested roughly $150 million in building it out. R3 took the asset with no liabilities, resetting the cost structure for domestic production.
TDK Ventures highlighted the investment’s focus on converting demonstrated commercial scale capability into reliable continuous supply, with potential technical collaboration in process control, power systems, sensing, and manufacturing quality. Integral GlobalTech Partners’ involvement has been linked to support for potential Japan/Asia market access.
The Covington plant combines battery shredding and lithium recovery/refining on a single site. It has 30,000 metric tons of annual shredding capacity for manufacturing scrap and end of life batteries, producing black mass, plus a 2,500 metric ton lithium carbonate production line. Space is allocated for a second identical line that could double output.
The process uses calciner based crystallization and water based precipitation to selectively extract and refine lithium carbonate directly from recycled black mass to 99% purity (previously demonstrated at commercial scale in 2025). This occurs without primary mining or overseas refining. Remaining concentrated metal oxides (nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite) are sold separately, often at or above feedstock cost, creating multiple revenue streams.
R3 projects the facility will represent more than 50% of total U.S. lithium carbonate production in 2027 once fully operational. The company plans a modular network of additional facilities across North America and Europe (typically 5,000 metric ton units), deployed only with offtake support.
R3 holds approximately $1 billion in signed long term offtake agreements (estimated aggregate potential value based on pricing and volume assumptions), including with Trafigura. These cover battery grade and technical grade lithium carbonate for energy storage, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, data centers, and related markets.
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Demand drivers cited include strong growth in battery energy storage (global installations surpassed 300 GWh in 2025 with a projected sixfold expansion by 2030) and ongoing needs for domestic critical mineral supply. The U.S. currently accounts for less than 1% of world lithium production, with the large majority of battery cell and component capacity located outside the U.S. and Europe. New primary mines typically require 7–10+ years for permitting and development; recycling offers a faster pathway using already circulating materials.
Who are R3 Lithium’s leaders?
The company retained the prior site’s leadership team. President and CEO Linh Austin (over 30 years in energy operations, including senior roles at McDermott, BP, and ARCO) and CTO Eric Gratz, Ph.D. (Ascend Elements co-founder, 43 patents in battery materials and recycling, member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Li-Bridge Technology Committee) continue in their roles. Gratz has emphasized that existing batteries represent an above ground, concentrated lithium resource that the Covington facility has now proven can be recovered at commercial scale in the U.S.
R3 Lithium was founded in 2026 and is privately held, headquartered at the Covington site. Its model prioritizes a lithium first sequence, single site vertical integration, offtake backed modular growth, and a reset capital structure relative to the prior operator’s experience.
Overall, the $15 million Series A provides the near term capital to convert a demonstrated, liability free commercial asset into continuous production, underpinned by substantial offtake coverage and experienced operators, positioning the company as an early contributor to U.S. recycled lithium carbonate supply.
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