Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Cotton Stephen	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 5/9/2018	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Aqua Metals, Inc. [AQMS]
(Last)        (First)        (Middle) 1010 ATLANTIC AVE	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director                            _____ 10% Owner ___ X ___ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below) President /
(Street) ALAMEDA, CA 94501        (City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	44500	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (right to buy)	(1)	5/2/2023	Common Stock	210000	$7.00	D
Employee Stock Option (right to buy)	(1)	5/2/2023	Common Stock	210000	$5.00	D
Employee Stock Option (right to buy)	(2)	5/2/2023	Common Stock	420000	$3.00	D

Explanation of Responses:
(1)	The options vest and become exercisable over a five year period as follows: 5,834 options vest monthly starting June 2, 2018 for twelve months; 70,000 options vest on May 2, 2020 and the remaining 69,992 options vest on May 2, 2021.
(2)	The options vest and become exercisable over a five year period as follows: 11,667 options vest monthly starting June 2, 2018 for twelve months; 140,000 options vest on May 2, 2020 and the remaining 139,996 options vest on May 2, 2021.

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Cotton Stephen 1010 ATLANTIC AVE ALAMEDA, CA 94501			President

Signatures
/s/ Stephen Cotton		5/9/2018
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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