[TL;DR]
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tozero is the first and only battery recycler in Europe successfully supplying customers with its recycled lithium, utilized in end products sold worldwide
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tozero’s proprietary recycling tech focuses on the true bottleneck, recovering critical raw materials from lithium-ion battery waste and reintegrating the recycled materials back into global supply chains
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The funding will be used to build tozero’s first industrial deployment (FOAK) plant, scale commercial production of recycled lithium and expand the team
Europe’s pioneer in sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling – has raised €11 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by NordicNinja. New investors joining this funding round include In-Q-Tel (IQT), automotive giant Honda, and global infrastructure engineering giant JGC Group. Existing investors including Atlantic Labs, Verve Ventures and Possible Ventures, also doubled down. This fresh capital will be used to build tozero’s first industrial deployment plant, often referred to as a First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) plant, boosting production of recycled lithium following the first commercial delivery in April by its operational Pilot Plant, and expand the team to support its ambitious growth plans.
Global lithium demand is set to quadruple by 2030, to an estimated 3.1 million metric tons, fueled by the rapid expansion in EVs and the growing need for large-scale renewable energy batteries to combat the climate crisis. It also plays a critical role in various industries, including ceramics, lubricants, cement hardening for construction and the high-performance glass used in smartphones. However, last year’s total lithium production from mining was only 180,000 metric tons, only 5% of future demand, and global production is heavily concentrated in China, where 97% of European lithium comes from, leading to a significant supply gap that highlights the urgent need for alternative sources. In addition, the EU is aiming to curb this dependence on the mining of raw materials with the EU’s Battery Directive, mandating that at least 80% of lithium must be recovered from batteries by 2031.
This all presents significant challenges for the battery recycling industry, as large-scale industrial recovery has yet to be successfully demonstrated. tozero is addressing this critical bottleneck by recycling lithium, thereby closing Europe’s lithium supply gap and providing a local resource to ensure stable availability for a growing number of industries.
Transforming lab concepts into industrial reality in two years
tozero was founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneur and mechanical engineer, CEO Sarah Fleischer and CTO Dr. Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, a leading metallurgy expert. They first met when they were working in the space industry when Fleischer launched the early stage VC Orbital Ventures and startup incubator at ESRIC, while at the Luxembourg Space Agency, and Dr. Milicevic Neumann was working at an early-stage startup Maana Electric to develop technologies for solar panel production on the moon and mars. They came back together three years later and decided to fix the problems here on earth first, using Dr. Milicevic Neumann’s breakthrough at RWTH Aachen University, recognized in Nature, to solve Europe’s battery waste and critical materials crisis. tozero has since advanced beyond this initial discovery by successfully scaling its technology — transforming lab concepts into industrial realities in just two years and thereby outpacing established companies within the hydrometallurgical industry.
Unlike traditional high-temperature smelting methods, which can result in the loss of lithium and graphite, while also generating significant emissions, tozero’s process makes it the first company in Europe to deliver recovered lithium to customers, while cutting emissions by an estimated 70%, compared to conventional lithium mining.
In addition, tozero’s agnostic approach to feedstock enables the recycling of various battery types, allowing for the production of high-purity recycled lithium that can be sold directly to industries for manufacturing end products. This asset-light, low-cost method means the company can integrate into both local and global supply chains with ease, already closely working with battery waste suppliers across more than 10 countries. Through this, tozero is creating a circular and local source of lithium, reducing Europe’s reliance on imports and lowering the carbon footprint of those imports. This enables tozero to take a slice out of the lithium-ion battery recycling market that’s on track to be worth $101 billion annually by 2043.
Solving the critical materials crisis
tozero’s unique approach and high-efficiency recovery rate saw the company deliver its first batch of recycled high-purity lithium to commercial customers in April, nine months after opening its pilot facility in Munich. As well, it recently completed a pilot project with Circular Republic, demonstrating a stable lithium recovery rate hitting the 2031 EU recovery target of 80% within an OEM project involving BMW, MAN and Webasto, and is working with customers across the ceramics and construction industries. With tozero poised to industrialise its technology following the new funding, the company is on track to process 30,000 tonnes of battery waste annually by 2026 onwards, setting a new standard for sustainable battery recycling.
The recent funding takes the total raised by tozero to €17 million, including a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC). Among the notable angel investors are prominent figures from the automotive sector, including Martin Hofmann (CTO, Volta Trucks and former CIO of Volkswagen), Axel Strotbek (former board member, Audi), Jochem Heizmann (former board member, Volkswagen), also from the pioneer in the chemical industry Rudolf Staudigl (former CEO, WackerChemie) and startup icons, such as Maximilian Wühr (CEO, FINN) and Jonas Rieke (COO, Personio), among others.
Sarah Fleischer, Co-founder and CEO of tozero, said: “Despite our limited resources as a two-year-old startup we’ve already made human history by being the first to ever deliver recycled lithium for end products in Europe, while our competitors are still lingering on the topic for many years. I’m excited to see what our rockstar team will achieve next— we’re establishing our FOAK plant now, but there is so much more we will be able to achieve in the future. We need a global solution tomorrow, as every moment counts as we fight the climate crisis. Together, let’s truly bring lithium-ion battery waste to zero!”
Shin Nikkuni, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at NordicNinja, said: “tozero’s innovative approach to battery recycling is exactly what Europe needs to secure key supplies in the global electrification race and Japan would love to collaborate. Sarah and Ksenija, two exceptional founders, have the expertise and drive to transform the landscape for sustainable battery solutions. We’re excited to support the tozero team in scaling its technology and commercial operation and contributing to a more sustainable and independent energy future for all.”
Find out more from our portfolio page here and tozero’s website here.
