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As demand for lithium explodes, battery recycling startup Tozero sprints to scale with $11.7M seed
- The Munich-based start-up Tozero has closed an investment round of €11m ($11.7m) to scale up its lithium-ion battery recycling service. The company already processes nine tonnes of such waste daily and will construct its first industrial-scale plant once the new funding is put to use. The firm hopes to remove any limitation on its recycling ambitions after this plant is completed. The European Union has set a target for 80% of lithium to be recovered from lithium batteries by 2031. Global lithium demand is set to quadruple to 3.1 million metric tonnes by the same year.
- Tozero runs a water-based carbonation recovery process, which it claims generates far lower emissions than mining and pyrometallurgy. This process uses no harsh acids, even though it reclaims metals and minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt. It also takes battery waste from any lithium-ion source, meaning it can be mixed. Competitors rely heavily on acquiring larger investors to scale their services.
- Tozero plans to market its lithium recovery beyond just the battery sector. However, it will not specify which other resources it will target. It aims to keep control of all its plants with operational partnerships rather than deals to license it to other companies. The start-up says it has already won customers worth billions of off-take.
- The seed round was oversubscribed, and NordicNinja led the funding, with Honda and Kitakyushu City in Japan joining the round. EV maker Honda has already worked with Tozero and aided the development of Tozero's first industrial-sized recycling plant.
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