NEU Battery Materials Raises S$800,000 in Seed Funding from Momentum Venture Capital

Deeptech start-up, NEU Battery Materials has raised a total of S$800,000 in seed funding from Momentum Venture Capital and Se-cure Waste Management.

This seed round also includes angel investments from two business angels in the energy storage and sustainability sectors, as well as earlier funding from the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP).

A flagship initiative of the NUS Industry Liaison Office, GRIP consists of three months of intense venture hothousing followed by nine months of incubation support, enabling NUS researchers, inventors, and students to transform the university's world-class research into deep tech start-ups.

NEU Battery Materials will use this seed funding to build a pilot recycling plant in Singapore to recycle lithium from used lithium batteries.  

Lithium batteries are a type of rechargeable battery. They are composed of cells where lithium ions move from the negative electrode to a positive electrode during discharge, and back again during the recharging process.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries are a type of battery that uses lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material. They typically are lower in cost, with a long cycle life and low toxicity.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries are used in many products, including Electric Vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems.

"The demand for lithium batteries is high, due to their everyday use. This demand will continue to increase drastically as EVs become mainstream. However, mining for lithium used in batteries is not an environmentally-friendly process. Furthermore, most lithium batteries are dumped into landfills at the end of their lifespan, creating environmental waste. We want to further develop and bring to market a method for producing sustainable lithium, resulting in clean and sustainable lithium batteries," said Bryan Oh, CEO and Co-founder of NEU Battery Materials.