Renewable energy comes in many forms and from many companies. In New Jersey, that includes Princeton NuEnergy, which just received a $12 million grant from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.
The grant, which aims to accelerate total battery recycling efficiency and also commercialization of PNE’s upcycling technology to upgrade battery material performance, means New Jersey will be a hub for this technology.
So said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-3rd Dist.), who applauded Princeton NuEnergy for being a driving force in New Jersey’s leading role in renewable energy at a recent event.
“Right here in Bordentown, Princeton NuEnergy is doing incredible work to deliver clean-tech and reimagine what clean energy looks like,” he said. “I want to congratulate them on being awarded this Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy grant to advance their work even further.
“This federal funding will not only support their innovative work in direct recycling and upcycling, but also help boost American manufacturing, combat climate change with reduced waste and lower CO2 emissions.”
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) agreed.
“Investments like this — in lithium-ion battery direct recycling and critical materials recovery — will help empower the ingenuity of clean-energy researchers and entrepreneurs as they strengthen New Jersey’s and the nation’s energy security while protecting the environment,” he said.
As much as New Jersey likes to be a leader in innovation, Princeton NuEnergy will not undertake this initiative alone.
Princeton NuEnergy is teaming up with leading scientists from Argonne National Lab, National Renewable Energy Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab and UC Irvine on the initiatives.
About PNE
Princeton NuEnergy, based in Bordentown, bills itself as an innovative clean-tech company focused on recycling, repurposing and commercializing lithium-ion battery materials from EVs, consumer electronics, manufacturing scrap and energy storage batteries.
Compared to other LIB recycling technologies, PNE said its direct recycling low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process significantly reduces cost, environmental waste and CO2 emissions, yielding higher critical material recovery rates and material performance.
PNE officials said the grant, which was established to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign materials and enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities, is a testament to the U.S. Department of Energy’s support for the potential of PNE’s breakthrough direct recycling technology.
In addition to the $12 million DOE EERE funding, PNE is also a subrecipient of Tennessee Technological University’s DOE award for mobile charging station development.
“Winning the DOE EERE grant is clearly an amazing achievement for the PNE team in a year full of amazing achievements,” Xiaofang Yang, co-founder and chief technical officer of PNE, said. “I would, of course, like to express my gratitude to the DOE EERE for believing in the potential of direct recycling and upcycling technology and helping us grow. We are excited to show how we can leverage this technology for the United States’ lithium-ion battery supply chain.”
Princeton NuEnergy recently launched the country’s first end-to-end direct lithium-ion battery direct recycling production line with Wistron GreenTech in McKinney, Texas.
