Silver State Times

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) has announced an alliance with the Nevada Center for Applied Research (NCAR) at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and begun research and development there.

NCAR provides industrial entities and entrepreneurs access to UNR's advanced facilities, equipment and expertise; a recent University news release said. The alliance with ABTC is set to advance technologies for battery metal extraction from Nevada-based primary resources and technologies for lithium-ion battery recycling.

"This partnership with American Battery Technology Company showcases the role of NCAR and the impact of Nevada's Knowledge Fund support, and it allows us to offer new and exciting experiences to our students," UNR President Brian Sandoval said in the release. "Our University is where students can become whomever it is they want to be. This is yet another example of how we are helping our students achieve their dreams."

The partnership reflects NCAR's relationships with organizations that are based on "flexible, industry-friendly facility-use or fee-for-service agreements," the release said.

"At a time when there is such a void of US workforce talent with skills and experience to design and commercialize technologies for the extraction and refining of battery metals, we are very fortunate to be working with a premier university such as UNR that embodies some of the top metallurgical and chemical engineering programs in the nation," ABTC CEO Ryan Melsert said in the release. "The partnership with NCAR enables a seamless relationship with the University and allows us to take full advantage of University resources including facilities, faculty, and students."

NCAR is backed by the Knowledge Fund through the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development. Since the research center's start in 2015, 158 jobs have been created by NCAR-affiliated companies.

"A company that is looking for a mutually beneficial collaboration and brings value to the University is important to us," Carlos Cardillo, executive director of Corporate Partnerships and of NCAR, said in the release. "American Battery Technology Company is a well-established, fast-growing company and they have a lot of on-campus activities currently going on and planned for the future."