💭 Thought bubble: Dead batteries

Axios Pro: Pro DealsThought Bubble

April 10, 2026

Axios Pro Exclusive Content

Alan Neuhauser

🏆 We don't give awards for the biggest face-palm investments of the 2019-2023 climate tech cycle.

But, if we did, battery recycling for EVs would be one of them.

It's a bad time for U.S. battery recyclers

A bar chart showing annual venture investment in North American lithium battery recyclers from 2017 to 2025. Capital raised peaked at $1.23 billion in 2021, then reached $1.07 billion in 2023 and $785.2 million in 2024. Deals ranged from one in 2019 to seven in 2021. — Data: PitchBook; Chart: Alan Neuhauser/Axios

A bar chart showing annual venture investment in North American lithium battery recyclers from 2017 to 2025. Capital raised peaked at $1.23 billion in 2021, then reached $1.07 billion in 2023 and $785.2 million in 2024. Deals ranged from one in 2019 to seven in 2021. — Data: PitchBook; Chart: Alan Neuhauser/Axios