Aqua Metals Secures $10 Million Loan for Non-Polluting Lead Recycling Technology

Strategic Insights -

Aqua Metals, Inc., a company commercializing a non-polluting electrochemical lead recycling technology called AquaRefining, has secured a $10 million loan from Green Bank in conjunction with a 90 percent loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Agency. The loan will finance the growth of Aqua Metals and enhance the development of its first AquaRefinery in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Nevada. The proceeds will be used to expand the company's lead recycling capacity, with plans to produce 80 tonnes of lead per day and expand to 160 tonnes per day by 2018.

Key Takeaways:

  • Aqua Metals has secured a $10 million loan from Green Bank, with a 90 percent loan guarantee from the USDA Rural Development Agency.
  • The loan will finance the growth of Aqua Metals and enhance the development of its first AquaRefinery in Nevada.
  • The proceeds will be used to expand the company's lead recycling capacity, with plans to produce 80 tonnes of lead per day and expand to 160 tonnes per day by 2018.
  • The USDA Rural Development program has supported the development of Aqua Metals' technology, which utilizes a water-based electrochemical process to produce ultra-pure lead from used lead-acid batteries.
  • The loan terms include interest-only payments for the first year, followed by 20 years of principal and interest payments, with an interest rate of the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate Index plus two percent.
  • Green Bank is a federally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the Department of the Treasury of the United States.
  • Aqua Metals' technology is designed to produce almost no emissions and consumes significantly less total energy than traditional lead smelting processes.

Statistics:

  • The loan amount is $10 million.
  • The loan guarantee is 90 percent provided by the USDA Rural Development Agency.
  • The initial production capacity is 80 tonnes of lead per day.
  • The planned expansion capacity is 160 tonnes of lead per day by 2018.
  • The loan term is 20 years, with interest-only payments for the first year.
  • The interest rate is the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate Index plus two percent.

Sources:

  • GlobeNewswire, "Aqua Metals Secures $10 Million Loan with Loan Guarantee from USDA Rural Development Agency", published November 5, 2015
  • USDA Rural Development, "Aqua Metals Receives $10 Million Loan to Develop New Lead Recycling Facility in Nevada"
  • Aqua Metals, Inc., "Aqua Metals Secures $10 Million Loan to Support Commercial Lead Recycling Operations"
  • Green Bank, N.A., "Green Bank Provides $10 Million Loan to Aqua Metals for Lead Recycling Facility in Nevada"