Worcester, MA-based lithium-ion battery manufacturing and recycling company Battery Resourcers announced earlier in September that its latest mid-round funding of $70 million will be used to advance and expand closed-loop material production recycling technology. The company will also expand commercial plants for operation in the U.S. and Europe by the end of 2022.

“With the influx of lithium-ion batteries hitting the market and increased demand for recycled content, the need for battery end-of-life solutions is more prevalent than ever,” said Michael O’Kronley, CEO and Director of Battery Resourcers. “This most recent funding round supports Battery Resourcers’ ongoing expansion in the U.S. and extends it to Europe to reinforce our mission of closing the loop on the battery material supply chain.”

Hitachi Ventures, the Munich-based venture capital company of Hitachi Group, joins the list of Battery Resourcers’ investors, including Orbia Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s Inmotion Ventures,  Doral Energy, At One Ventures, TDK Ventures, and Trumpf Ventures.

“Battery Resourcers develops key technologies for full battery circularity returning of active materials back into the supply chain in the most sustainable and responsible way, said Tobias Jahn, Partner at Hitachi Ventures. “The investment supports our mission at Hitachi Ventures to solve environmental challenges and reduce carbon emissions.”

“Collaborating with Battery Resourcers contributes to Hitachi’s efforts towards the effective use of depleted resources and a low carbon society,” added Norihiro Suzuki, CTO, Hitachi Ltd.

Battery Resourcers offers an approach to lithium-ion batteries fundamentally different than other companies. The company takes used batteries and production scrap and makes cathode-active materials while also engineering a process for graphite recovery and purification.

“Compared to battery recycling operators, Battery Resourcers’ technology is a game-changer for the entire industry. They extract more valuable materials than what recyclers do,” shared Francois Dossa, Executive Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Jaguar Land Rover. “Battery Resourcers is creating a more sustainable future by providing multiple material re-entry options into the battery supply chain process, in alignment with JLR’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions across our supply chain.”