M2i, Regenerate extend battery recycling partnership to lithium-ion, data

M2i Global Inc. and Regenerate Technology Global added lithium-ion and alkaline battery recovery plus supply chain analytics to their joint critical minerals program on October 1, scaling Regenerate's hydrometallurgical process across customer plants worldwide.

The expansion absorbs three battery chemistries under Regenerate's patented hydrometallurgical platform, which the partners claim produces 90 percent waste reduction, 85 percent lower emissions and 20 percent cost savings versus conventional smelting-based recovery. M2i publishes separate performance claims of its own: more than 80 percent energy consumption reduction and 90 percent greenhouse gas cut, "virtually eliminating toxic sludge from conventional processes."

Headquarters sit in Reno, Nevada for both companies. Regenerate runs a parallel European business, where a lead acid battery recycling demonstration plant now operates, plus a research and development arm with Cambridge University's Material Science Labs in the United Kingdom.

What does the deal actually deliver?

The partnership centers Regenerate's chemistry-driven extraction line at end-customer facilities globally, with M2i tasked with the supply chain backbone. Both companies framed the expansion as a mechanism to compress battery raw material costs and harden critical minerals supply chains against disruption.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with M2i," Regenerate co-founder and CEO David Batstone said. "The next phase of our work together brings Regenerate's technology to more customers in more places and adds data intelligence to the critical minerals supply chain."

M2i Executive Chairman Doug Cole matched that operational language. "This expansion takes Regenerate's technology into customers' plants worldwide, bringing new forms of battery recycling to the globe," Cole said.

What technology sits at the center?

Regenerate's stack rides on a patented hydrometallurgical process engineered to extract battery metals from end-of-life units. The partners contrast the route against smelting, leaning on the 90 percent waste, 85 percent emissions and 20 percent cost differentials to frame the technical case.

The process originated at Cambridge University Material Science Labs. Regenerate's commercial footprint today consists of the European lead acid demonstration plant and the U.K. R&D arm. Lithium-ion and alkaline streams join that base, and the Cambridge facility will carry most process development work for the added chemistries.

How does M2i fit into the supply chain?

M2i positions itself as the integrator that connects Regenerate's recovery units to critical minerals buyers and battery cell manufacturers. The "data intelligence" component introduced in the expansion suggests a software layer that tracks material flows, recovery yields and quality from end-of-life batteries through to refined critical minerals outputs.

Neither company disclosed plant counts, contract values, customer names, or the capacity of the facilities under development. The October 1 release ties the program to "select facilities under development" without specifying locations or timelines.

Where does this go next?

The first metrics to track are the conversion of those facilities into commissioned capacity, the first customer plant rollouts of Regenerate's lithium-ion hydrometallurgical line, and any disclosed throughput figures or multi-year offtake contracts. Without those, the partnership remains a framework rather than a producing asset.

The regulatory milestone sits with critical minerals policy in the U.S. and Europe, where domestic battery recycling capacity qualifies for subsidy and offtake programs. M2i's Reno base positions it to tap Department of Energy and Defense critical minerals funding. Site selection, permitting and first-feed dates will determine whether the partnership translates into recycled tonnage.