Dublin-headquartered TechMet raises $120m, seeking a further $250m

TechMet, a Dublin-headquartered company that invests in assets that produce rare metals, has raised $120 million (€83 million) and intends to secure a further $250 million in the coming months.

The company was founded in 2017 by British/South African metals industrialist, Brian Menell, who also leads Kemet Group, a company focused on developing natural resource projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

TechMet invests in assets that produce metals for which global demand will vastly outweigh supply as the world moves to clean energy technologies. Among the metals it is focused on are lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth metals, tin, tungsten, and vanadium. Many of these metals are used in solutions such as electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.

TechMet's backers include the US International Development Finance Corporation, Lansdowne Partners and energy trading company Mercuria.

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Mr Menell said the company’s second round equity fundraise, which follows a $25 million investment last year, represents a 50 per cent oversubscription on its initial $80 million target.

Increase

The final $60 million of investment was raised at a 32 per cent increase over the company’s initial second round price, and a 140 per cent increase over the first round.

“The closure of this funding round marks a significant milestone for TechMet and its oversubscription is a clear reflection of our great projects and of the value the team has created in a short time. These funds give us a significant amount of firepower to expand our operations and add to our portfolio,” he said.

The company’s assets include Li-Cycle - a lithium-ion battery recycling company which recently merged with Peridot SPAC; Brazilian Nickel - amining and extraction company producing nickel and cobalt suitable for EV batteries; US Vanadium - which produces vanadium products suitable for redox flow batteries; and Tinco - a portfolio of producing tin and tungsten mines in Rwanda.

“TechMet’s mission is to build ethical, independent, and environmentally sound supply chains for the metals that are needed to ensure the success of this 21st Century clean energy and EV revolution,” Mr Menell added.