German companies Reckelberg Environmental Technologies (RET) and Tozero have joined forces in a partnership focused on battery recycling, specifically targeting the processing of “black mass,” a key component in battery recycling.
RET, based in Bremerhaven, specializes in mechanical processing and recycling of batteries, while Tozero, headquartered in Munich, focuses on the development of a hydrometallurgical process for processing black mass. The collaboration between the two companies involves joint tests where RET produced black mass in its pilot plants, which was then processed at Tozero.
According to Tozero, the partnership aims to optimize systems and processes to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of battery recycling. RET will contribute its expertise in mechanical engineering, electrical, and environmental development, while Tozero will provide its chemical engineering and hydrometallurgical knowledge and processes. The companies formalized their collaboration by signing a letter of intent.
Tozero recently opened its battery recycling pilot plant near Munich in September 2023 and has ambitions to operate Europe’s largest factory with an annual capacity to recycle 90,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries by 2027. Despite being founded in the summer of 2022, Tozero has already established its pilot plant in Karlsfeld and partnered with Chinese company Huayou Recycling.
