Material sorting startup Sortera Technologies announced that it has raised $45 million in a funding round aimed at supporting the company’s growth as a domestic supplier of recycled aluminium products.
Founded in 2020, Indiana-based Sortera enables the reuse of metals recovered from end-of-life products. The company’s solutions utilize artificial intelligence, image/data analytics and advanced sensors in industrial scale sortation methods to generate high-purity recycled and upcycled metal feedstocks from existing scrap streams.
According to Sortera, the solution enables the precise sorting and capture of valuable aluminum from scrap streams, with its AI-enabled multi-sensor sorting systems with blending capabilities supporting customer-specific alloy composition requirements, addressing customers demand for high-quality upcycled products. The company said that its technology diverts billions of pounds materials that would otherwise have been shipped overseas, and reduces the energy needed for production by roughly 95% compared with virgin aluminum.
In addition to the capital raise, Sortera also announced plans for a new processing facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, following overwhelming demand from its flagship 200,000-square-foot plant in Markle, Indiana, opened in early 2023. The company said the new facility is expected to be operational by summer next year and will mirror the capabilities of Markle, improving logistics of recycling aluminium for manufacturers in the region.
Michael Siemer, CEO of Sortera Technologies, said:
“The performance of our Markle facility and the enthusiastic response from our customers have made it clear: the domestic market is hungry for sustainable, high-quality recycled aluminium. The robust investor confidence that powered this funding, coupled with the proven customer demand that necessitates our expansion into Tennessee, is a direct result of this success. This expansion allows us to significantly increase our capacity and establish a presence closer to many of our key customers – particularly in the automotive sector – further streamlining supply chains and enhancing our service capabilities.”
The expansion aims to increase annual production to around 240 million pounds, supporting manufacturers’ sustainability goals while strengthening the domestic supply chain.
The funding round was led by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates and VXI Capital, with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures and Overlay Capital, and additional equipment financing from Trinity Capital.
