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The company holds four green patents for solutions developed in Brazil, capable of impacting the global market
Rio de Janeiro, April 2025. New Wave, a global company focused on developing innovative, sustainable and low-cost technologies for the mining-metallurgical sector, has announced a $120 million funding round, with $80 million committed by fund entities managed by Orion Resource Partners (collectively, “Orion”), a leading global investment firm dedicated to metals and materials. The company’s founding partners also participated in the funding round, including Lorinvest, New Wave’s controlling investment manager.
New Wave’s breakthrough technologies have been recognized with four green patents by the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Designed with a strong sustainability focus, these solutions significantly reduce CO₂ emissions, minimize water consumption, and promote a circular economy. A key feature among them is the use of microwaves for an unprecedented segregation of different strategic minerals.
The technologies are implemented in subsidiaries such as Wave Aluminium, which processes bauxite residue and converts it into green iron with a low carbon footprint and at a very competitive cost. In February 2023, the company entered a partnership with Alunorte, one of the largest alumina refineries in the world operated by Hydro, to develop its first semi-industrial plant in the city of Barcarena, in the Brazilian state of Pará. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the facility will initially have the capacity to process 50,000 tons of bauxite residue per year. Furthermore, a potential scale up to process 5 million tons annually, which would consume all annual generation of Alunorte, is under consideration.
The partnership with Orion comes at a strategic moment for New Wave, supporting the ongoing advancement of its Research and Development (R&D) activities and the initiation of construction for its new Technology Center in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
New Wave was founded by CEO Gustavo Emina and Lorinvest in 2019, when they decided to focus on technologies to accelerate sustainable transformation of the global mining industry. In recent years, Lorinvest has played a strategic role in supporting New Wave’s business development, enabling the company to strengthen its technology and attract new partners.
“We are pleased with this first international investment in the company, which comes at a crucial moment as global demand for strategic minerals like aluminum, lithium, and nickel continues to rise. Having a strong international partner to drive project advancements and technology development is extremely rewarding. This investment also aligns with the growing strength of the environmental agenda in our country, especially with COP30 on the horizon,” said Gustavo Emina, CEO and founder of New Wave.
“Lorinvest is deeply honored to fulfill our mission through New Wave: supporting Brazilian technologies and entrepreneurs with investment and management to turn innovative ideas into solutions that benefit both the environment and the global economy,” said Christian Lorentzen, Executive Vice President of Lorinvest.
“Orion is excited to collaborate with New Wave on developing its technology offerings for metals processing and recycling. New Wave’s solutions not only offer environmental benefits but also enhance value creation for stakeholders across numerous metals markets. We are proud to partner with New Wave to be at the forefront of delivering sustainable solutions that have the potential to transform the industry,” said Jon Lamb, Managing Partner of Orion Resource Partners and a member of New Wave’s Board of Directors.
Moelis & Company acted as exclusive financial advisor to New Wave on the transaction.
New Wave’s CEO, Gustavo Emina, granted an interview to Brazil Journal to share more details about the investment. Click here to read the full article.
About New Wave
New Wave is a global Brazilian technology holding company dedicated to developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the mining and metallurgical industries. The company operates several subsidiaries, including: New Wave Tech, a technology center focused on researching and developing sustainable solutions for mining and recovering strategic minerals from waste or marginal deposits; Wave Nickel, specializing in the sustainable processing of nickel through a disruptive industrial Route; Wave Aluminium, dedicated to processing bauxite waste; and Wave Lithium, focused on the sustainable processing of lithium. New Wave holds four green patents granted by the INPI, related to the use of microwaves in the disruptive processing of alumina and nickel.
About Orion Resource Partners LP
Orion Resource Partners LP is a global investment firm specializing in the metals and materials critical to sustainable economic growth and the energy transition, with more than $8 billion of assets under management and a team of more than 80 professionals across five global offices. Orion has successfully invested across the metals and materials value chain for over a decade, operating complementary investment strategies spanning the full liquidity spectrum, finding and capturing opportunities driven by the long-term trends of global decarbonization, the constrained supply of critical resources, and advancements in industrial technologies. Orion is a signatory to the UN PRI and requires adherence to the IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability where appropriate. For more information visit www.orionrp.com
About Lorinvest
Lorinvest is a Brazilian investment management company that manages its own and third-party assets. With an entrepreneurial DNA, the management company was created in 2009 by the family of Erling Lorentzen, a Norwegian businessman who founded Aracruz Celulose, a company that became the world’s largest producer of bleached cellulose. Lorinvest currently has 12 companies and startups in its portfolio from different sectors, including: bioeconomy, industrial technology, shipping, natural gas, real estate, healthcare and finance solutions.