Singapore-based battery recycler NEU Battery Materials has closed an oversubscribed $7.6 million funding round as it begins scaling a newly commissioned lithium iron phosphate battery recycling plant in the city-state.
The round was co-led by mobility and energy investor Shift4Good and Singapore government-backed deep-tech investor SGInnovate, according to a company announcement dated October 13. New investors Lotus Singapore Group and M7 Holdings also participated, alongside existing backer Paragon Ventures I.
Funding supports production and expansion
NEU said it will use the capital to ramp production of battery-grade lithium recovered from lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, feedstock. The inputs include cathode manufacturing scrap and black mass from end-of-life batteries.
The company did not disclose a valuation or label the round by stage. It said the proceeds would also support lower production costs, additional commercial partnerships and international deployment. The financing follows NEU’s $3.7 million seed round in 2023, which was led by SGInnovate.
NEU operates in a part of the battery market that has expanded as manufacturers adopt LFP chemistry for electric vehicles and energy storage. The company cited International Energy Agency figures indicating that LFP represents more than 90 percent of battery energy storage systems and more than 55 percent of electric-vehicle batteries. Those figures were provided in the company’s release and should be read as supporting context rather than audited company operating data.
Singapore plant starts industrial scale-up
The new 12,000-square-foot facility in Tuas has annual processing capacity of 1,300 tonnes, Channel News Asia reported. The plant formally opened on October 13 and is intended to move NEU from technology development toward industrial production.
The facility is not expected to run at full capacity immediately. NEU told CNA that it would use the Singapore operation as a testbed to refine its process and develop a repeatable blueprint for larger facilities. About 85 percent of its current feedstock consists of production scrap, and the company said it has secured 40 to 50 tonnes of material, enough for roughly six months of operations at the initial pace.
NEU’s recycling method uses an electrochemical process designed for LFP batteries. The company says the system runs primarily on electricity and water and uses chemicals that can be regenerated within the process. It aims to recover lithium from feedstock while generating less waste than conventional hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical routes.
The company describes its patented electrochemical redox targeting technology as the first of its kind for closed-loop LFP recycling and says it can reduce emissions by up to 83 percent compared with conventional approaches. Those technical and environmental performance claims are company-supplied and have not been independently verified in the announcement.
Overseas facilities are planned
NEU plans to pursue larger operations in Europe and the United States as it expands beyond Singapore. The company told CNA that it expects international expansion to begin next year, while the Singapore plant will remain a production site and a development base for the wider rollout.
The funding gives NEU capital to test whether its laboratory and pilot results can translate into consistent commercial output. The plant ramp-up will also provide evidence on throughput, recovery rates, operating costs and the availability of LFP scrap and end-of-life material.
For Singapore, the project adds local processing capacity for a battery chemistry used across electric mobility and energy storage. For NEU, the near-term task is to convert a commissioned factory and investor backing into reliable battery-grade material at industrial scale.
Singapore’s NEU Battery Materials concludes oversubscribed $3.7M seed funding round