Cylib, a German battery recycling startup, has announced that it has raised €8 million (~$8.6 million) in a seed extension round, bringing the total seed round amount raised to €11.6 million (~$12.6 million)
World Fund, a climate-tech venture capital firm, led the investment round with participation from 10x Founders and existing investors VSquared Ventures, Speedinvest, and business angels Kai Hansen and Karim Jalbout.
The company has developed a process to take end-of-life batteries, recover the resources, and output new raw materials. The goal is to close the loop and ensure the mobility sector can run on electrified, regenerative energy. The company says it has a 90% recycling efficiency. The company’s customers include electric vehicle makers, battery manufacturers, and raw materials processors in acquiring reprocessed raw materials.
In 2024, new EU regulations are expected to come into force, which will tighten the obligation of electric vehicle manufacturers and resellers to recycle batteries at the end of their natural lifespan.
Cylib uses a water-based process for lithium and graphite recovery, reducing the usage of additives and acids and making it a more environmentally friendly method of recycling batteries. “Our process recovers all raw materials, including valuable elements such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite, which are simply disposed of in other processes,” said Lilian Schwich, CEO and co-founder of Cylib.
“The upcoming changes of EU regulations on battery recycling will be pivotal if we are truly to seize the decarbonizing potential of switching away from fossil fuel emitting vehicles, transitioning en masse to EVs. Only if all raw materials used in batteries for EVs are able to be safely and sustainably recycled will we establish a true circular economy, powering the mobility of tomorrow,” commented Cylib Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Gideon Schwich.
In Q4 2022, three battery recycling companies raised $549 million, compared to $57 million raised in Q3 2022, according to Mercom’s Annual And Q4 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency. Recently, another battery recycling company Cirba Solutions received a $50 million minority investment from Tokyo-based Marubeni Corporation.
