Nth Cycle Partners with Trafigura for $1.1B Metal Recycling Deal

Burlington startup #NthCycle scores billion-dollar metal recycling deal with #Trafigura

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

An industrial scene featuring a processing facility within a silhouette of the United States, showcasing logos of Nth Cycle and Trafigura, with materials representing nickel and lithium in the foreground.

Metal recycling startup Nth Cycle of Burlington says it’s struck a deal with Singapore-based metals trading company Trafigura to deliver $1.1 billion in recycled nickel and lithium over the next decade.

Nth Cycle, which operates a recycling plant in Ohio, plans to add capacity by building facilities in South Carolina and the Netherlands. The deal was announced at an energy security forum in Tokyo co-hosted by the Japanese and US governments, in an effort to reduce the two nations’ dependence on China for access to critical metals.

Nth Cycle is the second local recycling company to team up with Trafigura, which is scrambling to meet surging global demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other scarce metals that are vital in high-tech manufacturing.