15 NEST, a 1.2 million-square-foot building, helps to anchor the sprawling Northeast Science and Technology Center in Kenilworth. — Courtesy: NEST
By Joshua Burd
Another startup is coming to the Northeast Science and Technology Center in Kenilworth, where it will lease 15,000 square feet of laboratory space to help bring its technology to market.
The business, Still Bright Inc., is moving to the site from Newark’s HAX Accelerator after proving out a technology that focuses on developing a cleaner, low-cost alternative to traditional copper extraction as demand for the metal surges. Its new space at the 15 NEST, a 1.2 million-square-foot building, will serve as its global headquarters while allowing it to begin pilot manufacturing for a patented process known as RACER.
Still Bright is leasing the space from an ownership team led by Onyx Equities, Machine Investment Group and Pivot Real Estate Partners, which acquired the 2 million-square-foot former Merck & Co. complex in 2023 and have repositioned it as a multitenant campus.
“We’re entering a decisive period for Still Bright and for the copper industry,” said Randy Allen, co-founder and CEO of Still Bright. “We’ve spent the past few years proving that modern electrochemistry can produce copper with better economics than the status quo. The geological copper is there and the demand is undeniable. What’s been missing is a way to produce copper that communities can actually welcome.
“That’s what we built RACER to be, a process that avoids toxic pollutants and converts typical waste streams into valuable co-products to benefit the local economy. Our move to NEST lets us advance our pilot and prepare for global on-site demonstrations, right here in New Jersey.”
Still Bright noted that copper demand is skyrocketing due to artificial intelligence data centers, grid expansion and electric vehicles, but new supply keeps stalling because communities have lost trust in how copper is made, according to a news release. Its RACER process is built to change that, recovering up to 99 percent of the copper from sulfide ore at ambient temperature and pressure, at a fraction of the cost of smelting and with no harmful waste.
Founded in 2022, the company continues to gather momentum toward bringing the technology to market, the news release said. It raised $18.7 million in seed funding in 2025 and is now advancing to pilot-scale production, with plans for a demonstration unit capable of producing roughly 500 tonnes of copper per year.
The space at 15 NEST will support a range of Still Bright’s efforts, including:
- Research and development
- Technical testing
- Process advancement
- Corporate operations
- Pilot-scale manufacturing related to its copper extraction technology
“Still Bright’s move to NEST is exactly the type of growth story this campus was built to support,” said Matt Flath, senior vice president of asset management at Onyx Equities. “They are graduating from New Jersey’s startup ecosystem into a headquarters and pilot-scale manufacturing environment that allows them to keep advancing their technology here in the state. That is a powerful example of how NEST can help retain and scale innovative companies in New Jersey.”
Due to the turnkey nature of the space at NEST, Still Bright will take occupancy within 60 days.
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