Critical metals refining company Nth Cycle has closed $37 million in Series B financing and an additional $7 million in non-dilutive financing.
The company has a patented Electro-Extraction technology that replaces smelting, the conventional and energy-intensive pyrometallurgy, with a clean and modular refining system known as the Oyster. The company partners with scrap recyclers, miners, and original equipment manufacturers to refine feedstocks, including black mass, primary ore concentrates, and waste streams, into metal products.
Nth Cycle plans to use the funding to support commercialization through a new partner testing facility, commercial team growth, and headquarters expansion.
The funding was led by VoLo Earth Ventures, MassMutual through the MM Catalyst Fund I, Caterpillar Venture Capital, and Equinor Ventures. In addition to the $37 million secured in the Series B funding, Nth Cycle received two financial awards from the Department of Energy, including $3 million from the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.
Nth Cycle also recently announced it would offer a domestic nickel mixed hydroxide product (Ni MHP), helping shore up domestic supply of critical metals. Its Ni MHP product will also help accelerate the path for electric vehicle automakers to meet domestic supply mandates set in the Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA included numerous provisions and funding incentives for clean energy and the EV market.
The Series B comes after Nth Cycle had an initial seed financing in 2021 and a Series A round of financing in 2022. The company scaled its technology to commercially deploy its systems in 2022, introducing its premium domestic Ni MHP product in 2023. The product is expected to be the first Ni MHP offered in the United States.
"Nth Cycle has developed an efficient, adaptive solution that solves a number of key pain points for its customers while delivering significant value by transforming waste products to high-purity materials," said Jason Allen, portfolio manager of impact investments at MassMutual. "The company's revolutionary technology, positive environmental impact, and founding team positions it to become a pillar for the cleantech ecosystem."
