Funds: UBQ raises US$70 mn funding for biobased plastics expansion; Albermarle receives US$90 mn govt funding for lithium expansion

Israeli materials firm UBQ Materials has closed US$70 million in funding, led by US investment firm Eden Global Partners. Additional participants in the financing were return investors in the company, including TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s Rise Fund, Battery Ventures, and M&G’s Catalyst strategy.

The investment will support the company’s commercial, sales, and marketing scale up, as UBQ Materials continues its global expansion. This will include additional facilities in Europe and North America, alongside the impending opening of UBQ’s industrial-scale facility in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands. The new facility will have a production capacity of 80,000 tonnes/year of UBQ, converting 104,600 tonnes/year of waste into a new raw material.

UBQ Materials’ bio-based thermoplastic, UBQ, serves as a sustainable alternative to fossil-based plastics. It converts residual household waste diverted from landfills or incineration, including all organics, into an advanced thermoplastic material that is both climate-positive and highly recyclable. Leading industry brands have already integrated UBQ into durable and semi-durable products such as car parts, footwear, pallets, display stands, panels, planters, with customers including Mercedes-Benz, PepsiCo, and McDonald’s.

UBQ Materials adds it is investing significantly in its R&D, developing new product lines to meet functional and performance requirements to serve the building and construction, consumer durables, automotive, and logistics and supply chain industries.

In other news, US lithium production firm Albemarle Corporation says that the US Department of Defence has approved a US$90 million grant to help support the expansion of domestic mining and the production of lithium.

 The funding will be provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy, utilising Defence Production Act authorities, and will be used to purchase a fleet of mining equipment as part of the company's planned reopening of its lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

The planned Kings Mountain mine contains one of the few known hard rock lithium deposits in the US. The site is expected to feed sufficient material for 50 kt LCE of conversion capacity and support the manufacturing initially of approximately 1.2 million/year electric vehicles.

"As one of the only US-based lithium companies to carry out lithium extraction, processing, and novel lithium battery material research in the US, Albemarle is uniquely positioned to help power the clean energy revolution," said Albemarle's President of Energy Storage, Eric Norris. "Lithium is an essential ingredient in our sustainable energy future. Demand is expected to increase significantly, and it is imperative to secure our nation's supply of this critical resource."

Albemarle estimates that Kings Mountain will become operational as early as late 2026, pending permitting. At Kings Mountain, Albemarle is implementing "IRMA-Ready" standards – an operational playbook for mine sites in exploration phase. Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) standards emphasise environmental stewardship and community engagement.

(PRA)

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