“Nth Cycle differs from traditional battery recyclers in the market because of two things: our decentralized business model is about partnering to locate where the feedstock is, and the technology we use called ‘Electro-Extraction’ is modernizing how metals are refined,” says Colin Mahoney, Nth Cycle’s head of public relations. “This allows Nth Cycle to be upstream with miners, co-locating at their sites to ensure higher-purity products are sent to the market, decreasing the reliance of the environment to produce more and more. It also provides recyclers the most efficient way to refine metals at the end-of-life because we’re not shipping used materials across the globe to be smelted but created a solution for refining domestically and locally. In both instances, an enormous amount of GHG are saved through our modular asset, the Oyster.”

The Oyster targets, retrieves, and refines specific metals from feedstock, such as cell phones, magnets, and EV batteries. The core technology, designed with Autodesk Fusion 360, uses just electricity and water, and its refining emissions are 92% lower than traditional mining and 44% lower than current recycling methods. Not only does Nth Cycle have its own standalone production center in Fairfield, Ohio, but with a small (approximately 2,000 square-foot) physical footprint, the modular system can be easily installed in a battery manufacturing facility’s plant to extract and recycle metals in house.

“Our business model will be partnering with miners, scrap recyclers, and OEMS on their metal refining needs to ensure they have a sustainable solution in place,” Gammon says. “Our novel design features fast processing times, a small footprint, and a high recovery, focusing on minimal waste and self-generating consumables.” And, it keeps that $18 billion in minerals out of the landfill and in circulation indefinitely.