Nth Cycle is a technology company.
Nth Cycle has raised $53.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Nth Cycle has raised $53.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Nth Cycle has raised $53.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Nth Cycle's investors include Hustle Fund, Pillar VC, VoLo Earth Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures.
Nth Cycle is a metals processing technology company developing patented electro-extraction technology to recover critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper, and rare earths from e-waste, end-of-life EV batteries, industrial scrap, and mined ores.[1][2][3][5][7] It serves battery recyclers, miners, and manufacturers by enabling profitable separation of high-purity feedstocks for lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, semiconductors, defense systems, and more, while slashing emissions—92% less than traditional mining and 44% less than conventional recycling.[2][3][4][5] The company's modular "Oyster" systems, deployed onsite, process over 3,000 metric tons of scrap annually per unit, with first commercial production of premium nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide from scrap achieved in Ohio in 2024, fueling rapid scaling amid surging demand for domestic supply chains.[4][5]
Nth Cycle was co-founded in 2017 by Megan O’Connor (CEO), Desirée Plata (MIT Associate Professor), and Chad Vecitis (Chief Scientist) after O’Connor, then a Duke PhD candidate under Plata, pivoted her research to apply Vecitis's electrochemical water filtration invention to critical metals recovery.[1][5] The idea crystallized when O’Connor crashed a closed-door sustainability summit for electronics giants, hearing executives warn of e-waste crises, supply shortages, and U.S. refining gaps dominated by China—prompting her to defend her thesis on the tech after three years of development, leading to immediate company formation.[1] Early milestones included two patents (one pending), federal grants, industry awards, a $3.2M seed round in 2021 with a four-person team piloting the tech, and full commercialization in six years, marked by the 2024 Ohio deployment.[1][4][5]
Nth Cycle stands out through its Oyster modular electro-extraction systems, which use electricity, chemical precipitation, and filtration—instead of fossil fuels or smelting—to produce industry-standard refining chemicals onsite, enabling rapid deployment (fraction of traditional refinery timelines) and customization for specific metals.[5][7]
Nth Cycle rides the critical minerals boom for the energy transition, addressing exponential demand for EV batteries, renewables, and defense amid U.S. pushes for onshore refining to counter China dominance and supply vulnerabilities.[1][3][4][5] Timing aligns with policy tailwinds like federal incentives for domestic chains, manufacturer preferences for sustainable sourcing, and e-waste avalanches from end-of-life products—making electro-extraction a linchpin for circular economies over destructive mining.[1][4][5] Market forces favor its clean, modular model amid ESG pressures and profitability gaps in recycling; it influences the ecosystem by creating U.S. jobs in industrial heartlands (e.g., Ohio), attracting public/private capital, and enabling partners to hit sustainability targets while securing materials for net-zero tech.[4][5]
Nth Cycle is poised for explosive growth, targeting five Oyster deployments across the U.S. and Europe in three years via equity/debt to 10x capacity, expanding to copper and rare earths for magnets, and tackling mining waste alongside batteries.[4][5] Trends like escalating EV adoption, geopolitical supply risks, and "tough tech" investor focus on climate will propel it, potentially evolving from recycler enabler to full-spectrum refiner reshaping global chains.[3][5][7] As the cleanest, fastest path to domestic critical metals, Nth Cycle exemplifies how electrochemistry unlocks planetary-scale resource loops—turning yesterday's waste into tomorrow's power.
Nth Cycle has raised $53.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $37.0M Series B in December 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2023 | $37.0M Series B | Hustle Fund, Pillar VC, VoLo Earth Ventures | |
| Feb 1, 2022 | $13.0M Series A | Hustle Fund, Pillar VC, VoLo Earth Ventures | |
| Apr 1, 2021 | $3.0M Seed | Clean Energy Ventures |