R3 Lithium launches lithium recycling in Georgia
R3 Lithium has begun producing lithium carbonate from recycled battery materials in the U.S. state of Georgia. The existing facility is designed to handle 2,500 tons per year and is now set to enter continuous commercial operation.
The facility in Covington is capable of producing 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate annually.
Image: R3 Lithium
The facility in Covington, covering approximately 14,300 square meters, was acquired by R3 Lithium in July 2026. The previous owner—the insolvent company Ascend Elements—had invested around $150 million in the site according to the company. As early as 2025, lithium carbonate with a purity of 99 percent was produced there entirely from recycled raw materials. R3 therefore describes Covington as the first commercially proven facility of this type in North America.
Multiple recycling stages are combined at this site. The shredding facilities have an annual capacity of 30,000 tons and process production waste as well as used batteries into black mass. R3 then recovers lithium from this material on-site through a calcination-based crystallization and water-based precipitation process. The remaining concentrate containing nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite is intended to be sold separately.
The existing line can produce 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate per year. Space for a second line of the same size has already been prepared, but R3 does not provide a timeline for potential capacity doubling. Initially, $15 million from a Series A funding round will be used to upgrade the facilities for continuous commercial operation.
R3 aims to expand lithium carbonate production
By 2027, R3 expects to supply more than half of the lithium carbonate produced in the U.S., according to its own projections. However, given the current annual capacity of 2,500 tons, this forecast also highlights how low domestic production is at present. Other U.S. projects are still in the development stage: LG Energy Solution has secured 8,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year from Smackover Lithium’s planned South West Arkansas Project starting around 2029. Trafigura also intends to purchase the same amount annually on a long-term basis. The project is aimed at reaching 22,500 tons per year initially.
While Smackover Lithium aims to extract new lithium from brine, R3 relies on existing materials from the battery supply chain. The challenge now lies in operating continuously. Black mass can vary significantly depending on the battery chemistry, age, and origin. Therefore, R3 must prove that different input materials can also be reliably processed into lithium carbonate with the specified purity.
In the long term, R3 plans to build additional facilities in North America and Europe. For the site in Covington, however, scaling up production is the top priority for now. It has already been demonstrated that lithium carbonate can be produced there from recycled materials. Whether this process can function continuously and economically on a commercial scale remains to be seen. R3 has not yet provided any details regarding yield and production costs.