The Covington plant is set to recover lithium from used battery materials, strengthening the battery supply chain for electric vehicles and energy storage
Covington, Georgia, 16 September 2026 – A battery recycling facility in Covington, Georgia, is entering a new phase under R3 Lithium, which has acquired the site and begun operations focused on recovering valuable materials from used batteries and battery manufacturing waste. The development comes as demand for lithium and other battery materials continues to grow alongside electric vehicles and energy storage.
R3 Lithium acquired the 154,000-square-foot facility in July 2026 and announced the start of operations in September. The site had previously received significant investment under its former operator, Ascend Elements. R3 has retained members of the existing leadership team to support the transition and development of the facility.
The company has also secured $15 million in Series A funding and says it has entered into more than $1 billion in offtake agreements. These agreements are intended to provide a customer base for the materials recovered and produced at the facility as operations expand.
At the heart of the Covington operation is lithium carbonate, a key material used in lithium-ion batteries. R3 plans to recover lithium from black mass, a concentrated material produced when batteries and battery manufacturing scrap are processed. The facility has the capacity to process up to 30,000 metric tons of battery material each year.
The site currently includes a lithium carbonate production line with an annual capacity of approximately 2,500 metric tons. Additional space is available for another production line of similar capacity. R3 plans to use its new investment to upgrade the existing system and move toward continuous commercial production.
The facility’s integrated approach is an important part of its operation. Battery materials can be processed into black mass and then refined to recover lithium at the same location. R3 says its technology has demonstrated the ability to produce lithium carbonate with 99 percent purity from fully recycled material at production scale.
Lithium is not the only valuable material recovered through battery recycling. Processed battery materials can also contain nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite. Recovering these materials creates additional opportunities to return important battery components to the manufacturing supply chain instead of sending them to waste streams.
Battery recycling is becoming increasingly important as electric vehicles and energy storage systems become more widely used. Batteries contain valuable materials that can remain useful after their original application. Recycling provides a way to recover these resources and prepare them for use in new products.
The approach also supports the development of a circular battery economy. Instead of relying entirely on newly extracted raw materials, manufacturers can incorporate recovered materials into future production. This can create additional sources of supply while giving used batteries and manufacturing scrap a productive second life.
R3 Lithium plans to use the Covington facility as a foundation for expanding its battery recycling and lithium recovery activities. The company has indicated that it intends to develop additional facilities across North America and Europe, with future projects supported by customer agreements.
The reopening and development of the Covington facility illustrates the growing importance of battery materials recovery. As demand for electric mobility and energy storage increases, technologies capable of recovering lithium and other critical materials could become an increasingly important part of the global battery supply chain.
