R3 Lithium has commenced production at a Georgia facility dedicated to reclaiming lithium carbonate from spent battery materials. Located in Covington, the operation processes black mass to reintroduce recovered lithium into domestic battery manufacturing. The company simultaneously unveiled a $15 million Series A funding round.
The company took over the 14,000-square-meter site in July 2026 after acquiring it from Ascend Elements, a battery recycler that had become insolvent. During 2025, the location demonstrated its capability to produce lithium carbonate at 99% purity using entirely recycled input at commercial scale. The existing management team continued operations following the transition.
Capacity and Production Process
The plant incorporates 30,000 metric tons of shredding infrastructure alongside a production line generating 2,500 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually. A second identical production line has reserved space for future installation. The fresh capital will primarily support enhancements to the current production line.
R3 Lithium projects that this facility will represent more than half of all U.S. lithium carbonate output by 2027. The entire processing workflow occurs on-site: battery waste and manufacturing scrap undergo conversion to black mass, followed by lithium extraction via a calciner-based crystallization method combined with water-based precipitation.
Offtake Agreements and Geographic Plans
The company has secured offtake agreements totaling roughly $1 billion in value. Plans are underway for additional production sites across North America and Europe. Future facilities will employ a modular design framework, with each unit engineered for 5,000 metric tons of annual output capacity.
Source: Battery-News
