A Porsche-backed Startup Is Building A Big Battery Recycling Plant To Reduce Waste.. -

Cylib, a startup supported by luxury sports vehicle firm Porsche and machines producer Bosch, is building a huge battery recycling facility in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region.

The plant, situated in the town of Dormagen in Western Germany, will traverse 236,000 square feet.

Cylib said the building is centered around the electric vehicle industry and, upon completion, it will have ability to recycle 30,000 metric lots of end of-life batteries consistently.

The battery recycling plant is being built in Germany by Cylib, a startup hoping to decrease waste from EV batteries that have reached at the end of their life.

In excess of 180 million euros ($200 million) is being siphoned into the facility, as would be considered normal to traverse 236,000 square feet and will deliver recycled batteries for the electric vehicle industry in Europe.

Cylib says its building will be the biggest start to finish lithium-particle battery recycling facility in Europe.

It intends to recycle approximately 30,000 metric tons of end of-life batteries at the facility every year, making it bigger in scale than the current biggest plant, Hydrovolt, a partnership between Swedish EV battery creator Northvolt and Norway-based aluminum and environmentally friendly power firm Hydro.

Hydrovolt has the capacity to recycle 12,000 metric lots of end of-life batteries yearly, as per Hydro’s website.

Recycled batteries created by Cylib’s new office are expected to be used by Porsche, which invests in the startup as part of a 55 million euro subsidizing round.

In the mean time, plans are still in the beginning phases and have not yet been formalized.

According to an anonymous Cylib spokesperson, investments from partners like Porsche are “strategic,” adding that it is working closely with its investors about process industrialization and commercial partnerships.

Battery recycling is a key priority for the European Union, which is looking to ensure the sustainable development of batteries needed to fuel the transition to electric vehicles.

Founded in 2022 by German entrepreneur Lilian Schwich, her husband Gideon Schwich, and Paul Sabarny, Cylib uses water-based lithium and graphite recovery techniques to repurpose materials from batteries that have hit the end of their lifespan.

Earlier this year, the firm raised 55 million euros of financing from investors including climate-focused venture capital firm World Fund, Porsche Ventures, Bosch, and DeepTech & Climate Fonds.

Cylib said the new plant would primarily serve automotive, battery manufacturing and chemicals clients. The startup wants it to be the first of many, with further facilities planned elsewhere in Germany and Europe within the next few years.

Samsung Electronics To Expand The SmartThings Ecosystem, Offering New Lifestyles

The new facility is being built on a brownfield site located at Chempark, an industrial space used primarily by the chemicals industry. Cylib said that the location was strategic, with preexisting supply chains already located on-site.

Operations at the plant are scheduled to commence in 2026. The move is key to Cylib’s ability to reach mass production, said CEO Lilian Schwich.

“Cylib reaching industrial scale production will be a key driver in building a robust European battery infrastructure,” Schwich said in a press statement.