Massachusetts-based Nth Cycle is eyeing a late-2026 New York Stock Exchange listing after agreeing terms of a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp.
Nth Cycle announced an offtake deal in March this year with global commodity trader Trafigura for the supply of up to US$1.1 billion of metals recycled from black mass using its proprietary Oyster electro-extraction technology.
The 2017 start-up previously secured about US$65 million of private equity funding from the likes of Colorado-based environment-focused venture capital firm VoLo Earth Ventures, MassMutual, Caterpillar Venture Capital and Equinor Ventures, the VC arm of energy group Equinor.
Nth Cycle Holdings, the entity created through the proposed merger, is expected to trade under the ticker, NTH. It will reportedly have access to Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp’s circa-$230 million of trust account funding.
The merger gave Nth Cycle a nominal enterprise value of $585 million, the company said.
It commenced operation of a commercial-scale module of its Oyster system in Ohio, USA, in 2024, producing the country’s first premium-grade nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate, and aims to add operations in South Carolina, USA, and the Netherlands by 2028.
“Critical minerals are abundant across the West but they have little to no commercial value until refined. That single chokepoint has left the United States, Europe and allied nations entirely dependent on China, which has a tighter grip on these essential resources than OPEC ever had on oil,” Nth Cycle CEO and co-founder Dr Megan O’Connor said.
“We’ve changed that with our modular refining system and are excited to partner with Kensington to scale our platform at the cost, speed and efficiency Western markets demand.”
O’Connor said Nth Cycle’s electroextraction platform was built for Western markets, replacing the expense, build-out and waste of traditional refineries with a faster, cheaper and cleaner alternative.
Nth Cycle’s financial adviser on the deal is Cantor Fitzgerald & Co while Latham & Watkins is providing legal counsel. Kensington has Cohen & Company Capital Markets, Drexel Hamilton and Hughes Hubbard & Reed as advisers.
