NEU Battery Materials closes $7.6M round to scale LFP recycling

NEU Battery Materials has closed an oversubscribed $7.6 million funding round, co-led by Shift4Good and SGInnovate, to scale its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery recycling operation in Singapore.

The round lands just as the company commissions a 1,300-tons-per-year factory in Singapore. That plant marks the shift from lab-scale technology development to industrial production. NEU says the fresh capital will fund the ramp-up of battery-grade lithium output from LFP feedstock — think cathode production scrap and black mass — plus international expansion.

Lotus Singapore Group and M7 Holdings joined the round, alongside existing backer Paragon Ventures I.

Why LFP recycling is suddenly hot

The bet rests on LFP's dominance in the global battery market. Citing International Energy Agency data, NEU says LFP chemistry powers more than 90 percent of battery energy storage systems worldwide and more than 55 percent of all electric vehicle batteries. That's a massive feedstock base — and as deployments and manufacturing keep growing, scalable recycling becomes a chokepoint for anyone worried about securing critical lithium supply chains.

NEU co-founder and CEO Bryan Oh frames the stakes directly: "Our vision is to build cleaner and more resilient lithium supply chains for the ongoing energy transition. The commissioning of our Singapore plant is an important milestone in that journey. The funding will catalyze the scale-up and deployment of our modular LFP recycling technology, enabling us to expand the production of vital battery-grade lithium, and at progressively lower costs to our customers."

What does the technology change for recyclers?

NEU claims the world's first patented electrochemical redox targeting technology for closing the loop on LFP batteries. The process runs on electricity and water, uses regenerative chemicals, and generates less waste than conventional routes like hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy. The company puts the emissions advantage at up to 83 percent lower than those incumbent methods.

For practitioners, that's the real pitch: lithium recovery that scales without the cost and environmental drag of acid- or heat-intensive processing. Lower emissions also matters commercially, since battery makers and automakers face tightening carbon accounting across their supply chains.

Investors are explicit about the strategic framing. "LFP battery recycling is both a decarbonization and an industrial sovereignty imperative," says Sebastian Guillaud, co-founder and managing partner at Shift4Good. "NEU has developed a differentiated solution to recover battery-grade lithium from LFP feedstock and is now entering a new phase of industrial scale-up, thereby helping build more resilient supply chains."

SGInnovate, the Singapore government-backed deep tech investor co-leading the round, is signaling long-term commitment. "NEU plays a strategic role in the battery value chain, and we remain committed to supporting its growth," says Hsien-Hui, head of investments at SGInnovate.

What comes next

With the capital and the plant in hand, NEU plans to scale production, push production costs down further, and broaden its partner network. The company says its R&D roadmap has hit key technical milestones ahead of schedule, which it calls the foundation for international deployment and continued commercial growth.

The near-term watch item is execution at the 1,300-ton plant. If NEU can deliver battery-grade lithium from LFP scrap at progressively lower costs, as Oh promises, it strengthens the case that recycling — not just mining — can anchor lithium supply for the energy transition.