Circu Li-ion advances battery recycling with €8.5M Seed financing and EICA grants

Circu Li-ion aims to upcycle three billion batteries by 2035.
Circu Li-ion advances battery recycling with €8.5M Seed financing and EICA grants

Today European battery recycling startup, Circu Li-ion, a leading, announced the successful closing of a €8.5 million Seed financing round.

Circu Li-ion is a European battery upcycling company transforming the battery value chain by automating and scaling the disassembly of batteries and the diagnostic of cells – for a more economical and ecological battery recycling. 

Its usecases include electric vehicles, micro-mobility, power tools, energy storage systems, and recycling. A Machine-as-a-Service solution helps give used batteries a second life through upcycling instead of recycling – saving money and the planet.

The company aims to upcycle three billion batteries by 2035. 

The recent funding includes €4.5 million in equity, led by BonVenture and additional backing from an undisclosed group of battery, AI, and industry experts, and a significant participation of the company's management team. 

The investment is complemented by €4 million in grants from the EICA (European Innovation Council Accelerator) and collaborations with recyclers and OEMs.

According to Antoine Welter, CEO and co-founder of Circu Li-ion:

"We're happy to double down on our development speed, turning this fresh funding into smarter, data-focused solutions that make battery recycling economically and ecologically viable for everyone.

For this, the key is a great team – we will further invest in our team and double our size of currently 34 colleagues within the next twelve months."

Circu-li-ion's battery recycling tech. Photo: Uncredited.

Nikolaj Klebert, investment manager at BonVenture shared:

"Since the first contact with the outstanding team, we have been enthusiastic about the highly dynamic environment of battery up- and recycling in which they have occupied the field very early and taken a dominant role. 

Circu Li-Ion stops the current destruction of value in the form of a technically sophisticated and particularly innovative solution, thus unlocking previously inaccessible potential down to the level of the individual cell. 

This makes a particularly high level of sustainability possible in the first place and makes an important contribution to the transformation of many industries."

Accordingly, the new funding will enable Circu Li-Ion to:

  • Enhance its upcycling platform.
  • Amplify its proprietary battery data library.
  • Bolster collaborations with EV OEMs and recyclers, and
  • Unlock new capabilities in the battery recycling value chain. 

Circu Li-ion also plans to expand its main production facility near Karlsruhe, Germany, to 2,000 m2 while further growing its Berlin satellite office.

Lead image:  the Circu Li-ion team. Photo: Uncredited. 

Follow the developments in the technology world. What would you like us to deliver to you?
Your subscription registration has been successfully created.