- Lifezone completed pilot-scale testing for its Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Recycling Project, recovering more than 99% of platinum and palladium and targeting more than 95% of rhodium from 1 ton of US-sourced spent automotive catalytic converter (Autocat) material.
- The project’s process flowsheet is now locked following an interim feasibility study (FS) completed in June 2026; a separate internal techno-economic review is feeding into plant design, with an updated feasibility study targeted for year-end.
- Federal funding for the commercial facility remains under review: two US Department of Energy (DOE) requests totaling $41.5 million, with a required Lifezone cost-share of approximately $10.4 million.
- Final Investment Decision (FID) for the PGM Recycling Project is now anticipated in early 2027.
- Site selection for the commercial-scale US facility is continuing, with several potential brownfield locations already identified, while an enhanced test campaign runs in parallel with plant design work through the remainder of the year.
What Has Happened
Lifezone Metals Limited (NYSE: LZM) has completed pilot-scale testing for its Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Recycling Project. The pilot processed 1 ton of US-sourced spent automotive catalytic converter (Autocat) material, recovering more than 99% platinum and palladium and targeting more than 95% rhodium recovery from the same feedstock. Lifezone reported the results on July 29, 2026, as part of first-half interim results. The project is developed in partnership with Glencore and uses Lifezone’s proprietary Hydromet processing technology.
Lifezone completed an interim feasibility study (FS) for the project in June 2026. The process flowsheet is now locked. For investors, that order matters: the recoveries were validated before the flowsheet was fixed, rather than the other way around, which is a specific form of technical de-risking ahead of a capital decision. An internal project review conducted late in the first half of 2026 yielded techno-economic improvements that are feeding into plant design and an updated feasibility study (UFS) targeted for completion by year-end.
Lifezone has also filed two funding requests with the US Department of Energy (DOE) totaling $41.5 million, made in the first quarter of 2026 and still under review. Final Investment Decision (FID) for the PGM Recycling Project is now anticipated in early 2027, with site selection and an enhanced test campaign continuing alongside ongoing plant design work.
The Financing Picture
Two DOE funding requests for the commercial facility were filed in the first quarter of 2026 and are still awaiting a decision. The company states these carry a required private cost share of 20%; the presentation separately gives Lifezone’s cost-share contribution as approximately $10.4 million.
That funding sits alongside Lifezone’s existing partnership with Glencore, which has invested $1.5 million for a 6% stake in the project and holds an option to fund 50% of capital expenditures (capex) should it proceed to construction. As currently disclosed, the commercial facility’s funding draws on three separate parties prior to a construction decision: government funding requested through the DOE, Glencore’s investment and capex option, and Lifezone’s required cost share.
Site selection for the commercial facility is continuing, with several potential brownfield locations in the United States identified. None has been confirmed.
Parallel Work Underway
An enhanced test campaign and commercial plant design work are both underway through the remainder of 2026, running alongside each other rather than in sequence. The same pattern is evident at Lifezone’s flagship Kabanga Nickel Project in Tanzania, where permitting, procurement, and technical work have also proceeded ahead of a formal investment decision rather than waiting on one.
What to Watch Next
DOE outcomes and site confirmation will determine how and where the plant is built. The year-end UFS will incorporate the techno-economic improvements identified in the internal review. Early 2027 FID is the next formal gate, running alongside Kabanga’s remaining financing and Framework Agreement work rather than behind it.