First domestic source of cobalt and nickel to be produced in new Nth Cycle facility

Nickel and cobalt are mandatory components for multiple clean-energy, electronics, defense, and consumer markets, and they have historically been obtained exclusively from other countries, particularly China. Now, with the opening of its newest facility, Nth Cycle is producing the first domestic source of nickel and cobalt through its MHP product.

Patented system processes black mass and other nickel scrap

Oyster can co-locate with recyclers, manufacturers, and miners on-site, eliminating the years of permitting and billions of dollars needed to build a stand-alone refining plant, while dramatically reducing transportation, time-to-market, cost, emissions, and waste.

Nth Cycle's Oyster system is able to process black mass and other nickel scrap. The facility will also serve as an independent test site for partners, and will effectively end the country's decades-long supply-chain reliance on China, according to the company.

A domestic metallurgic milestone

On Monday, September 9, Nth Cycle opened its fully operational and scaled 21,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to produce domestic nickel and cobalt MHP. The company commemorated the launch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Congressman Brad Wenstrup, officials with the U.S. Department of Energy, Fairfield Mayor Mitch Rhodus, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, State Representative Jennifer Gross, and partners of Nth Cycle.

"In less than 12 months, we've installed and operationalized our state-of-the-art Oyster system, creating the first commercial domestic source of high-quality nickel and cobalt MHP from scrap," said Megan O'Connor, co-founder and CEO of Nth Cycle. "This system not only helps to end decades of U.S. reliance on foreign supply chains but also sets a new standard for modular, sustainable, high-purity critical metals production."

A supply chain advantage

With Nth Cycle's patented electro-extraction technology, the Oyster converts recyclable industrial waste and mined ore into the full spectrum of critical metals using electricity — not fossil fuel. This innovation replaces pyrometallurgy with clean technology, ensures transparent traceability, and accelerates the net zero targets of the public and private sectors.

A significant step forward for domestic refining of critical metals

Critical metals are central to the country's future: they're used in electric vehicles, computers, phones, aviation, defense, and public transit. While the United States has resources rich with these metals, there has been no refining capability to separate and extract them for end-use. As a result, 85 percent of the country's critical metal refining is done in China. 

The DOE has identified refining as the most urgent gap in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, and legislation has been passed and introduced to address the threat it poses to the country's economy and national security.

Nth Cycle's solution provides compliance with the Inflation Reduction Act, was awarded a $ 7.2 million 48C tax credit for the Ohio facility under its Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit program, and is aligned with the goals of related bi-partisan initiatives.