Freestone Announces Closing of Growth Financing for Elemental Recycling

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Freestone Holdco, LLC, a portfolio company of Tailwater Capital LLC, announced that it has signed definitive agreements to make an investment in Elemental Recycling, a Houston-based company that has developed a process to upcycle plastic and other organic waste material into high-quality graphite and hydrogen.Founded in 2019, Elemental will own and operate recycling facilities that use a patented single-step process to efficiently convert organic waste material into high-purity graphite and hydrogen. Elemental’s process uses waste destined for landfills, such as hard-to-recycle contaminated plastics and tires, and turns it into valuable spherical graphite that can be used in lubricants, lithium-ion batteries, construction materials and numerous other products. Additionally, Elemental’s process creates a stream of hydrogen that can be used to decarbonize traditionally hard-to-abate sectors. The process is free from Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions, provides a clean, domestic source of a critical energy transition mineral and will reduce the amount of plastic waste going into oceans and landfills.

The Company has proven its technology at its pilot facility, and Freestone’s investment will be used to fund the Company’s first commercial recycling plant. This first commercial facility will be located in Houston, TX and is expected to be operational by mid-2023. “The massive growth expected in the electric vehicle and energy storage industries will drive significant demand for high quality graphite, a key mineral for lithium-ion battery production that is currently produced primarily by China,” said Alan Boswell, Managing Director of Freestone. “Elemental provides a low-cost source of graphite supply that is both environmentally friendly and made right here in the United States.”

“We are excited to partner with Freestone and Tailwater as we grow our business to a commercial scale and bring much needed solutions to the plastic waste and graphite industries. Freestone and Tailwater’s experience in the recycling, critical minerals and energy infrastructure industries will be invaluable as we seek to establish Elemental as a leading provider of recycling solutions and low-cost, clean graphite supply,” said Tom Samuels, CEO of Elemental.

“This is another exciting transaction that demonstrates Freestone and Tailwater’s commitment to partnering with innovative growth infrastructure businesses that solve bottlenecks as we transition to a low-carbon economy,” said David Cecere, Partner at Tailwater Capital. “Elemental represents a compelling opportunity to address critical waste and energy transition minerals supply challenges and complements Tailwater’s existing portfolio of waste-to-value recycling and byproduct management investments.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com