Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a US-based battery recycling company, has inaugurated a commercial-scale Advanced Black Mass (ABM) and battery-grade cathode production facility in Chester, South Carolina, the company said.
The fully operational plant provides advanced recycling capabilities that allow the US to produce and regenerate key battery minerals domestically. The facility processes used and scrap batteries to extract black mass, a concentrated mixture of active materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. These materials can then be separated and refined to produce new cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, including those based on NCM and LFP chemistries.
Dr Chao Yan, PNE’s co-founder and CEO, said: “In Chester, we demonstrate that the United States can lead in battery materials recovery and manufacturing – not years from now, but today. Our team’s execution has been exceptional, and this facility is our next major advancement in the battery supply chain space.”
The facility currently has an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes of ABM, with plans to expand to 15,000 tonnes in 2026 and eventually 50,000 tonnes. PNE claims its technology produces high-purity ABM from manufacturing scrap with a recovery yield exceeding 97%.
In addition to the Chester site, PNE operates a pilot research facility in McKinney, Texas, and a Materials Testing Center in Princeton, New Jersey. The company aims to establish “a network dedicated to US closed-loop battery material recovery and production,” supporting domestic energy security and the growing electric vehicle supply chain.