The investment is part of R3 Lithium’s oversubscribed $15 million Series A funding round alongside co-investors Integral GlobalTech Partners, Axial Partners and others.
R3 Lithium owns and is upgrading a commercial-scale lithium carbonate recovery facility in Covington, Georgia, where the team demonstrated production of recycled lithium carbonate in 2025, before R3 Lithium’s acquisition. The 154,000-square-foot plant is designed to use a calciner-based crystallisation and water-based precipitation process to extract and refine lithium carbonate directly from recycled black mass, without requiring primary mining or overseas refining for that process. R3 Lithium is targeting continuous commercial production in 2027.
The company’s operational thesis addresses a key challenge in critical mineral supply chains: converting commercial-scale proof into dependable, continuous supply. Rather than targeting multi-material recovery simultaneously, R3 Lithium focuses on a single primary output - lithium carbonate.
The Covington facility holds 30,000 metric tons of shredding capacity and a 2,500-metric-ton lithium carbonate recovery line, with physical space allocated to double capacity.
Feedstock shredding through refining will occur in one location, yielding multiple revenue streams by producing lithium carbonate while selling remaining concentrated metal oxides (CMO).
R3 Lithium holds long-term offtake agreements with counterparties including Trafigura, with an estimated aggregate potential value of approximately $1 billion over their full terms, based on pricing and volume assumptions.
Having previously invested in the technology’s initial development under Battery Resourcers / Ascend Elements, TDK Ventures’ investment follows a diligence process evaluating R3 Lithium’s restructured approach.
“R3 Lithium brings together an experienced team, demonstrated lithium recovery at commercial scale, and a clear focus on building dependable domestic supply” said Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures. “We believe this team can help make recycled batteries an important source of America’s critical minerals. Our ambition is to support that journey with more than capital, connecting R3 Lithium with relevant expertise across TDK as it turns demonstrated capability into reliable industrial production.”
TDK Ventures will support R3 Lithium by connecting the company with relevant experts across energy, materials, and industrial transformation. It will also explore technical collaborations with TDK Corporation business units specialising in process control, power systems, sensing, and manufacturing quality.
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