Tozero, a battery recycling startup based in Munich, has forged a collaboration with Chinese company Huayou Recycling to address the growing challenge of battery waste. Under the agreement, Huayou Recycling will provide Tozero with battery waste, including used electric vehicle batteries and production scrap, for processing at Tozero’s German pilot plant near Munich.
While specific quantities and sources of materials are not disclosed in the announcement, Tozero emphasizes that the partnership will have a significant impact on Europe’s battery industry. The cooperation is exclusive to the continent, and Tozero aims to revolutionize battery recycling by recovering critical raw materials essential for producing new batteries.
Tozero, which inaugurated its battery recycling pilot plant near Munich in September, has ambitious plans to operate Europe’s largest factory with an annual capacity to recycle 90,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries by 2027. Despite being founded in the summer of 2022, the startup is already operational with its pilot plant in Karlsfeld.
Sarah Fleischer, co-founder and CEO of Tozero, expressed the company’s commitment to combating battery waste on a global scale. She sees recycling as a key solution and believes that, by collaborating globally, the industry can set an example for addressing pressing environmental challenges. Fleischer envisions that recycling could easily fulfill half of Europe’s lithium demand by 2040.
In addition to the material supply, both Tozero and Huayou Recycling aim to explore the potential of utilizing their recycling technologies to create a closed-loop battery material solution. This initiative aims to substantially reduce the environmental footprint of new batteries. Huayou Cobalt, the parent company of Huayou Recycling, is poised to construct its first European factory in Hungary to produce cathode material for electric car batteries, possibly becoming a customer for the recycled materials from Tozero.
Wei Bao, General Manager of Huayou Recycling, expresses optimism about the collaboration, stating, “We are glad to see that more and more innovative companies are rising and joining force with us in this great mission of sustainability.” Bao believes that the partnership with Tozero will contribute significantly to achieving the goal of bringing lithium-ion battery waste to zero.