Reuters writes that Caterpillar's investment is part of a 44 million round raised by Nth Cycle, a company that could play a big role in recycling critical materials required by the energy transition.

Based in Massachusetts, Nth Cycle uses an electrochemical technology in order to selectively extract nickel and cobalt from things like batteries or mined rocks. The company's proprietary "Oyster" system can process as much as 3.000 tons of material per year, from which it can produce some 300 to 500 tons of nickel or cobalt.

Megan O'Connor, Nth Cycle's co-founder and CEO, said that "the beauty of our system is that it's truly modular. We want our customers to have options." Built in Ohio, the first facility is expected to become operational next year.

Rod Shurman, Caterpillar's senior vice president of electrification and energy solutions, said that "Caterpillar's collaboration with Nth Cycle supports our commitment to helping our customers achieve their climate-related objectives and establishing a circular value chain."