What Gopher Resource does

Gopher Resource, LLC is a private, for-profit environmental solutions provider founded in 1946 and headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota. The company specializes in the closed-loop recycling of spent lead batteries, operating two industrial-scale facilities — a primary plant in Eagan, Minnesota (685 Yankee Doodle Road) and a secondary plant in Tampa, Florida (6505 Jewel Avenue) — plus a community drop-off site called The Recycling Zone. Its core technology stack combines pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and physical separations processes to recover lead, polypropylene plastic, and other materials from used batteries, with the output fed back into U.S. manufacturing supply chains for automotive, telecommunications, and industrial motive power applications. The company reports an industry-leading 99% lead battery recycling rate and keeps more than 160 million batteries out of landfills annually.

The company is differentiated by an 80-year operational track record, advanced R&D capabilities housed in a 3,000 sq. ft. laboratory, and proprietary SCADA/PLC monitoring systems that capture 5,000+ and 11,000+ data points per second at the Eagan and Tampa facilities respectively. Research partnerships include membership in the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI) and a multi-year collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory using synchrotron x-ray technology to study lead battery chemistry in real time. Its closed-loop network is positioned as a domestic critical minerals supply chain asset, reducing reliance on primary mining and foreign imports for lead used in transportation, stationary backup power, and material handling applications.

Gopher Resource operates a B2B, enterprise field sales model, contracting directly with battery vendors, suppliers, and industrial clients through negotiated vendor agreements and direct delivery to facility receiving areas. Pricing is quote-based and transaction-driven, governed in part by federal compliance frameworks including 40 CFR Part 273 and 49 CFR Part 173.159. The company is privately held, with Norwest Equity Partners as a historical institutional investor and Energy Capital Partners providing a $450 million investment in October 2024.

Name

Gopher Resource

Legal name

Gopher Resource, LLC

Website

https://gopherresource.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Gopher Resource is a private environmental solutions provider founded in 1946 that operates two industrial facilities in Eagan, Minnesota and Tampa, Florida to recycle spent lead batteries through pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and physical separations, serving automotive, telecommunications, and industrial motive power supply chains in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Battery Recycling Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (5621)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead-Acid Battery Recycling (Breaking, Smelting, Refining) (EUAIAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Battery Recycling & Materials Recovery (Li-ion, LFP, Flow, Lead-Acid) (EUAMALAE), Pyrometallurgical Recycling (Smelting, Thermal Treatment) (EUAFACAE), Battery Collection & Logistics (Sorting, Packaging, Transport Compliance) (EUAIAIAE), Collection, Logistics & Reverse Supply Chain (Transport, Sorting, Tracking) (EUAFACAA), Battery Scrap & Recycling Feedstock (Lead-Acid, Li-ion Black Mass Feedstock, NiMH) (IMAKAMAH)

Keywords

• Lead battery recycling
• Critical minerals recovery
• Environmental recycling services
• Closed-loop recycling
• Battery recycling solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Eagan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Lead Battery Recycling Services: Gopher Resource generates revenue through the collection and recycling of spent lead batteries. Their closed-loop operations recover lead and other materials for reuse in new batteries, sporting goods, construction materials, and automotive parts. The company processes significant volumes of batteries, with recycling materials returned to manufacturing supply chains.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gopher Resource provides lead battery recycling services and critical minerals recovery through two manufacturing facilities in Eagan, Minnesota and Tampa, Florida. The company uses pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and physical separations processes to recover lead and other materials from spent batteries, operating a closed-loop recycling network that supplies recovered materials back to domestic manufacturing supply chains.

Product overview

Gopher Resource is a national environmental solutions provider offering lead battery recycling services since 1946. The company's core offerings include lead battery recycling, critical minerals recovery, and a closed-loop recycling network across facilities in Eagan, Minnesota and Tampa, Florida. The portfolio centers on their R&D Lab (state-of-the-art 3,000 sq. ft. facility for pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and physical separations) and Advanced Facility Monitoring technology using SCADA systems. The company also offers The Recycling Zone as a community drop-off facility and maintains industry research partnerships through the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lead Battery Recycling Services National environmental solutions service providing safe and efficient recycling of lead batteries across North America. Recovers lead, a critical mineral essential for transportation, power reliability, and emergency backup systems, through closed-loop recycling operations.
• Critical Minerals Recovery Recovery of critical materials including lead and plastic (polypropylene) from spent batteries, strengthening domestic supply chains for essential industries and reducing reliance on primary mining.
• Closed-Loop Recycling Network A nationwide closed-loop battery recycling network that keeps valuable materials in continuous use within the United States, supporting U.S. manufacturing, infrastructure resilience, and long-term resource security.
• The Recycling Zone A community drop-off facility in Dakota County, Minnesota, located at 3365 Yankee Doodle Rd, Eagan, MN, that serves as a drop-off location for recyclables including certain materials in partnership with Toys for Tots.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% recycling rate for lead batteries - highest of any consumer product category
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Argonne National LaboratoryflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Groundbreaking three-year research initiative studying chemical changes during charge and discharge reactions in real time using synchrotron x-ray technology. First study of its kind conducted with lead batteries, involving more than a dozen U.S. lead battery companies and suppliers. Research will establish data foundation to create next generation high-performance advanced lead battery technology.
• Minnesota Waste Wise FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Gopher Resource supports MWWF (nonprofit affiliate of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce) through sponsorship and participation, including previously serving on the Foundation Board. MWWF delivers strategic environmental consulting helping businesses save money through waste reduction, resource conservation and energy efficiency.
• Moffitt Cancer CenterminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Gopher Resource employees in Tampa hold fundraising activities and employee awareness luncheons to support Moffitt Cancer Center programs and provide employee education on cancer prevention and early detection. Employee fundraising is matched by Gopher Resource. Moffitt is one of only 41 NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
• Rotary Clubs (Eagan and Tampa)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2014Gopher Resource supports local rotary clubs through ongoing membership, participation and funding. Most notable is sponsorship of the Eagan Rotary Club's annual fundraising gala with proceeds funding essential community projects and grants to local non-profit programs.
• Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs one of more than 90 CBI-member companies worldwide, Gopher Resource supports the Consortium's ambitious research roadmap to increase cycle life of advanced lead batteries, improve start-stop and micro-hybrid applications, and extend lifetime and performance. CBI is the only global pre-competitive research organization promoting lead battery innovation for energy storage and automotive applications, in existence for 25 years.
• Missouri University of Science and TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolar Microgrid Demonstration Project collaboration where students created two solar homes forming an EcoVillage. Microgrids power the solar homes and act as living laboratories for studying renewable energy sources and storage applications in real time.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ecobat: Ecobat is the world's largest producer of recycled lead and a leading recycler of lead-acid batteries, operating multiple smelters across the U.S. and Europe. It is the most direct competitor to Gopher Resource's pyrometallurgical lead-acid recycling operations.
• RSR Corporation: RSR Corporation is one of the largest non-integrated lead recyclers in North America, operating smelting and refining facilities that process spent lead-acid batteries. It directly competes with Gopher Resource for feedstock and downstream lead sales.
• Heritage Battery Recycling: Heritage Battery Recycling collects and recycles lead-acid batteries across the central and southern U.S., competing directly with Gopher Resource's Tampa and Midwest collection footprint.
• Retriev Technologies: Retriev Technologies operates battery recycling and processing facilities across North America for lead-acid and other chemistries, making it a direct operational peer in collection, processing, and metal recovery.

Broad incumbents

• Clarios: Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls Power Solutions) is the world's largest manufacturer of lead-acid automotive batteries and operates an integrated closed-loop recycling network. It overlaps with Gopher Resource both as a feedstock source and a competing recycler.
• East Penn Manufacturing: East Penn is a privately held, family-owned manufacturer of lead-acid batteries with integrated recycling operations. Its closed-loop smelting and refining activities directly overlap with Gopher Resource's recycling value chain.
• EnerSys: EnerSys is a global leader in industrial motive power, reserve power, and specialty lead-acid batteries. While primarily a manufacturer, its scale in motive-power batteries (forklifts, telecom backup) places it as both a customer and adjacent competitor to Gopher Resource's lead recycling operations.

Emerging players

• Li-Cycle Holdings: Li-Cycle is a leading lithium-ion battery recycler using a hydrometallurgical 'spoke-and-hub' model. While focused on Li-ion rather than lead-acid, it increasingly competes for the same battery recycling customers and broader critical-minerals narrative that Gopher Resource operates in.
• Redwood Materials: Redwood Materials is an emerging battery-recycling and cathode-active-material producer focused on Li-ion end-of-life batteries and gigafactory scrap. It competes for OEM relationships and policy attention that increasingly drive critical-mineral recycling demand.

Others

• Call2Recycle: Call2Recycle is the largest consumer battery stewardship program in North America. While not a smelter itself, it influences lead-acid battery collection flows that ultimately feed recyclers like Gopher Resource.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gopherresource
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gopher-resource-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/gopherresource

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gopher Resource