Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery by American Battery Technology Co.: status and timeline

Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery

Battery recycling facility in Nevada recovers Ni, Co, Mn, Li from end-of-life EVs. Tonopah project extracts lithium from Nevada geothermal brines into lithium hydroxide.

DeployStage 4 of 5

First facility operational since Q4 2023; second facility in Southeast US approved; TFLP lithium funded.

Updated Sep 2026Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Second commercial recycling facility construction begins

First commercial recycling facility operationalQ4 2023Complete.
FY2026 revenue $21.7M, adjusted gross profit $1.7MSep 2026Complete.
DOE grant for Tonopah Flats Lithium Project reinstated on appealJun 2026Complete.
Second commercial recycling facility construction beginsTarget 2026Current milestone.
Second recycling facility operationalTarget 2027Not yet reached.
TFLP lithium refinery operationalTarget 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

2026Second commercial recycling facility construction begins (next)
2027Second recycling facility operational
2028TFLP lithium refinery operational
2028Tonopah Flats lithium refinery production

Current obstacles

Achieving cost parity with primary miningRecycling and brine extraction must remain profitable across varying commodity prices.
Regulatory approval for lithium extractionThe TFLP project requires state and federal environmental approvals for geothermal brine extraction.

Physics limits

Limited volume of incoming end-of-life batteriesCurrently few EVs have reached end of life; recycling volumes are limited until EV fleets age.
Brines available only in certain regionsLithium extraction from geothermal brines is limited to specific geographies with appropriate geology and geothermal activity.

How it works

4 parts

Receiving and sorting

Battery pack disassembly

End-of-life EV battery packs arrive at the facility and are safely disassembled to separate cells and modules.

Black mass production

Thermal processing

Cells undergo pyrolysis that strips away casings and binders, leaving black mass concentrating nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium.

Chemical recovery

Metal leaching and separation

Black mass is leached in acid solutions and metals are chemically separated and refined to battery-grade purity.

Lithium refining

Brine-based extraction (TFLP)

Tonopah Flats taps Nevada geothermal brines, extracts lithium via evaporation and refining into lithium hydroxide.

Spec sheet

Spec	Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery
First recycling facility capacity	20,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)
Second facility designed capacity	100,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)
FY2026 revenue	$21.7 million^R (reported)
FY2026 adjusted gross profit	$1.7 million^R (reported)
Cash position end of FY2026	$49.5 million^R (reported)
DOE grant for TFLP lithium refinery	$115 million^R (reported)
DOE grant for second recycling facility	$144 million^R (reported)
TFLP lithium capacity	5,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About American Battery Technology Co.

The team behind Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery

American Battery Technology Co.

Battery recycling, lithium refinery, critical minerals

Public company operating commercial-scale battery recycling facility in Nevada and developing Tonopah Flats lithium extraction project from Nevada geothermal brines.

Nevada recycling facility (operational Q4 2023) generated $21.7M FY26 revenue (407% growth) and positive adjusted gross profit of $1.7M.
Won reinstatement of $115M DOE grant (June 2026) for Tonopah Flats Lithium Project to extract lithium from Nevada geothermal brines.
$144M DOE grant for second recycling facility (100k tpa, 5x current capacity) in Southeast US; FY26 ended with $49.5M cash, zero debt.

americanbatterytechnology.com (opens americanbatterytechnology.com)Company profile →

Founded: 201115 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Valuation: $50MprivateSep 2026
Raised: $259M2 rounds
Last round: DOE grant (TFLP) · $115MJun 2026
Works in: MaterialsBattery recycling
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 1 Sep 2026checked 10 Oct
Lead investors: US Department of Energy
Partners: US Department of Energy (opens energy.gov)
People: Ryan Mitchell Melsert (opens americanbatterytechnology.com)Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer & Director

Spec

Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery

First recycling facility capacity

20,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)

Second facility designed capacity

100,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)

FY2026 revenue

$21.7 million^R (reported)

FY2026 adjusted gross profit

$1.7 million^R (reported)

Cash position end of FY2026

$49.5 million^R (reported)

DOE grant for TFLP lithium refinery

$115 million^R (reported)

DOE grant for second recycling facility

$144 million^R (reported)

TFLP lithium capacity

5,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)

Nevada recycling plant + lithium refinery

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Battery pack disassembly

Thermal processing

Metal leaching and separation

Brine-based extraction (TFLP)

Spec sheet

Update log

Sep 2026

Jun 2026

2026

Q4 2023

About American Battery Technology Co.

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Battery pack disassembly

Thermal processing

Metal leaching and separation

Brine-based extraction (TFLP)

Spec sheet

Update log

Sep 2026

Jun 2026

2026

Q4 2023

About American Battery Technology Co.