R3 Lithium Begins Recycled Lithium Production in Georgia Hub

R3 Lithium has started operations at a 154,000-square-foot battery recycling facility in Covington, Georgia, as it works to establish a domestic source of lithium carbonate produced entirely from recycled battery materials.

The site has capacity to shred 30,000 metric tons of battery material and currently includes a lithium carbonate production line rated at 2,500 metric tons annually. R3 acquired the facility in July and retained members of the existing leadership team, which had demonstrated commercial-scale recycled lithium production at the plant in 2025.

The launch comes alongside $15 million in Series A financing from investors including Integral GlobalTech Partners, TDK Ventures and Axial Partners. R3 also reports approximately $1 billion in signed offtake agreements, including an agreement with commodities trader Trafigura.

Covington Facility Combines Battery Recycling and Lithium Recovery

Rather than separating battery processing and lithium refining across multiple sites, the Covington operation is designed to handle both.

Manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries are first processed into black mass. Lithium is then recovered using calciner-based crystallization followed by a water-based precipitation process. According to R3, the production line previously demonstrated lithium carbonate with 99% purity while using entirely recycled material.

The company plans to use its Series A funding to upgrade the existing system and move toward continuous commercial operation. The plant also has space reserved for a second 2,500-metric-ton lithium carbonate line, which would expand production if deployed.

Lithium is not the only potentially marketable output. After lithium recovery, the remaining concentrated metal oxide contains materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. Selling those materials could allow the operation to generate revenue from several components of its recycled feedstock.

The facility also gives R3 an existing infrastructure base for its expansion plans. Approximately $150 million had previously been invested in developing the site before R3 acquired it, according to the company. R3 says it did not assume the facility's previous liabilities as part of the transaction.

Battery Recycling Adds Another Route to U.S. Lithium Supply

The project enters operation as manufacturers and energy storage developers look for additional sources of battery materials within the United States.

Lithium refining and much of the broader battery supply chain remain concentrated outside the U.S. At the same time, lithium demand is being driven by electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage, electronics, data center infrastructure and other battery-dependent applications.

Recycling provides a supply route that differs from developing new lithium mines. Instead of waiting for new deposits to move through permitting, construction and production, recyclers can recover lithium and other materials from manufacturing waste and batteries already in circulation.

R3 President and CEO Linh Austin has positioned the Covington facility as a way to add domestic critical-mineral processing capacity without relying exclusively on new mining development.

The company projects that the facility could represent more than half of U.S. lithium carbonate production in 2027. That figure is a company forecast rather than guaranteed production and will depend on factors including completion of planned upgrades, reliable access to recycled battery feedstock and the facility reaching continuous commercial operation.

R3 is also considering additional black mass processing and lithium carbonate plants in North America and Europe. Its current strategy calls for expanding in modular increments of 5,000 metric tons of annual lithium carbonate capacity and pursuing projects where supporting offtake agreements are already in place.

That model could provide clearer demand visibility before additional capital is committed, but Covington will be an early test of whether the process can operate consistently at commercial volumes.