Green Li-ion bags $20m to transform energy storage industry

Green Li-ion co-founders: CTO Reza Katal (left) and CEO Leon Farrant / Photo credit: Green Li-ion

Ninety-five percent of lithium-ion batteries end up in landfills because they are difficult and expensive to recycle. This is why Green Li-ion finds itself in the game-changing business of lithium-ion battery recycling.

The company – based in the US, Europe, Australia, and Singapore – facilitates the complete processing of used lithium batteries, recycling and reusing all metals to directly manufacture battery-grade cathode material for new batteries.

Recently, Green Li-ion raised US$20.5 million in a pre-series B funding round led by Trirec, a Singapore-based VC firm that focuses on supporting decarbonization initiatives. Thai smart energy solutions provider Banpu Next and Equinor Ventures, the VC arm of Norwegian energy company Equinor, also participated. This round brought Green Li-ion’s total funding to US$36 million.

Green Li-ion’s multi-cathode tech was developed and prototyped in Singapore, while its units of battery processors are produced in the US. These processors resemble the size of a small house, but they are modular enough to be shipped on flat-bed trucks. Once installed, these machines can process four to six metric tons of end-of-life batteries per day.

“The new funding will help us scale our manufacturing to deliver 50 Green Li-ion modular units per year for recyclers eager to launch commercially viable lithium-ion battery re-manufacturing operations,” Green Li-ion CEO and co-founder Leon Farrant said.

Other investors in the latest round include:

• EDP Ventures (Portugal)
• Envisioning Partners (Korea)
• SOSV (US)
• Energy Revolution Ventures (UK)
• Dream Project Incubators Energy Ventures (Singapore/Japan)
• Entrepreneur First (UK)
• TES (Singapore)
• LiNiCo (US)
• Decarbonization Consortium (US)
• IS Dongseo (Korea)
• MB Energy Partners (US)
• GS Holdings (Korea)

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