Princeton NuEnergy Inc. (PNE), the innovative clean-tech spin-out from Princeton University, has named industry veteran Joseph Park as its new president and chief financial officer. The high-profile hire signals PNE’s transition from a successful pilot phase to a global commercial powerhouse in the lithium-ion battery recycling sector.
Park joins PNE at a critical moment for the U.S. energy supply chain. While traditional recycling methods rely on energy-intensive smelting or toxic acid leaching, PNE’s proprietary “Cathode-to-Cathode” direct recycling process uses low-temperature plasma to rejuvenate battery materials without breaking them down to their elemental form.
Park brings an unmatched pedigree to the Princeton-headquartered firm. He most recently served as a senior executive at SK On, one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers, where he spent six years as CFO and chief strategy officer. During his tenure at SK On, he orchestrated multi-billion-dollar capital raises and led the company’s manufacturing expansion across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
“Joe’s experience in battery manufacturing expansion and international capital markets will be invaluable as we scale our commercial operations,” Chao Yan, co-founder and CEO of Princeton NuEnergy said.
Founded in 2019, PNE has rapidly moved from a university lab to an industrial leader. Its patented LPAS™ (Low-Temperature Plasma-Assisted Separation) process offers staggering advantages over conventional recycling:
- Cost efficiency: Reduces production costs of battery-grade materials by approximately 38%.
- Environmental impact: Achieves a 69% lower environmental footprint and reduces water and energy usage by nearly 70%.
- Performance: Rejuvenated cathode materials have been validated by Argonne National Laboratory to perform on par with—and in some cases, better than—virgin materials.
The appointment of Park is part of a broader strategy to secure U.S. critical minerals. PNE is currently scaling its flagship Advanced Black Mass facility in Chester, South Carolina—the first of its kind in the nation—which is slated to expand to a capacity of 15,000 tons per year (tpa) in 2026.
Back in the Garden State, PNE continues to operate its Materials Testing Center in Princeton, the largest in the Northeast, providing a hub for third-party validation and downstream application testing for the burgeoning U.S. battery industry.
“The company has a compelling value proposition and a demonstrable track record,” Park said. “I look forward to helping build the financial foundation that will enable sustainable commercial growth in the years ahead.”
