Cylib, a Germany-based battery recycling startup, secured €55 million (~$59.79 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by World Fund and Porsche Ventures. The round was joined by Bosch Ventures, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, NRW.Venture, existing investors Vsquared Ventures, Speedinvest, 10x Founders, and established business angels. The total funding raised to date amounts to about €74 million (~$80.43 million).
Cylib will use the funds to commercialize its proprietary technology, which is already used by leading OEMs and battery manufacturers. The company will scale its operations at an already-secured brownfield industrial facility in Germany.
The company noted that, with the rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs), global sales soared by 35% to almost 14 million in 2023 and are expected to reach 17 million in 2024. To ensure the move away from fossil fuels does not entail switching dependence onto other scarce mineral resources, the recycling of minerals used in electric batteries must improve. According to Fraunhofer ISI, the volume of lithium-ion batteries to be recycled in Europe will reach 2.1 million tons by 2040.
“This company has created a market-leading, highly efficient battery recycling process that offers real climate gains, and which is already delivering for major clients – a huge feat for a business launched not even two years ago. This is the still missing piece of the emerging battery value chain for the decarbonization of mobility and energy,” said Danijel Višević, General Partner at World Fund.
Last year, the company raised €8 million (~$8.6 million) in a seed extension round which was also led by World Fund.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2024 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, VC funding for Energy Storage companies increased by 9% YoY, with $1.2 billion in 23 deals in Q1 2024 compared to $1.1 billion raised in 19 deals in Q1 2023.
Recently, Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a lithium-ion battery recycling company, announced an additional $10.3 million in Series A Funding. Last year, the company also raised $16 million in its Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to over $26 million.
