Princeton NuEnergy

Princeton NuEnergy is an American clean-tech company developing advanced lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. Founded in 2019 as a spin-out from Princeton University, it concentrates on the direct recycling and rejuvenation of cathode materials from spent batteries, an approach intended as an alternative to conventional mining and hydrometallurgical processing. Its research laboratories are in Princeton, New Jersey, and its flagship recycling facility is in Chester, South Carolina.

At the centre of the company's work is LPAS™ (Low-Temperature Plasma-Assisted Separation), a patented process for separating and regenerating cathode materials. Princeton NuEnergy reports that it recovers over 95% of critical minerals while cutting costs by 45% and energy consumption by 73% relative to traditional mining and hydrometallurgical processes. A second proprietary platform, Cathode-to-Cathode® direct recycling, regenerates cathode materials across NCM, NCA, LCO and LFP chemistries.

The company has been awarded a $50m grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and was named to TIME's 2025 World's Top 100 GreenTech Companies. Its technical work spans low-temperature plasma-assisted separation, materials rejuvenation and hydrometallurgical alternatives, serving industries including energy storage, automotive, critical minerals recovery and battery recycling. Strategic partnerships include Honda, Samsung, Shell, Wistron and Argonne National Laboratory.