Aqua Metals Advances 150,000-Sqft Midwest Recycling Campus Near Six LFP Gigafactories
AQMS•Aqua Metals has advanced to final site-specific diligence for its planned Headwaters ARC campus, featuring a 150,000-square-foot facility and over 50 acres—more than seven times the Sierra ARC footprint—near six major LFP gigafactories. The company expects to select development sequencing and financing by quarter-end to begin phased deployment.
1. Site Diligence and Scale
Aqua Metals has moved into final site-specific diligence for the Headwaters ARC development, securing an existing 150,000-square-foot industrial facility and over 50 acres of expansion land—more than seven times the building footprint and ten times the land area of its Sierra ARC project.
2. Phased Development and Technology Integration
The planned campus will begin with deployment of battery preprocessing systems to produce high-specification black mass, aluminum fines and copper fines focused on LFP materials, followed by progressive integration of proprietary AquaRefining™ hydrometallurgical processes to recover battery-grade lithium carbonate and iron phosphate.
3. Strategic Proximity and Market Opportunity
Located within a short drive of six major U.S. LFP gigafactories in the Great Lakes region, Headwaters ARC aims to capitalize on a projected 15-fold increase in recyclable LFP scrap by 2030, reducing logistics costs and feedstock risks through vertical integration and regional scale.
