Cylib, a startup backed by Porsche and Bosch, is building a large-scale electric vehicle battery recycling facility in the small town of Dormagen in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region.
Selib
Cylib is building a massive battery recycling plant in Germany, a startup working to reduce waste from electric vehicle batteries that have reached the end of their useful life.
Cylib, backed by luxury sports car company Porsche Home appliance maker Bosch started construction on Monday on a new factory in the town of Dormagen in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
With an investment of more than €180 million ($200 million), the 236,000-square-foot facility will produce recycled batteries for the European electric vehicle industry.
Cylib said its factory will be Europe’s largest end-to-end lithium-ion battery recycling facility.
The company plans to recycle around 30,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries per year at the plant, which will be larger than Hydrovolt, its current largest plant. Hydrovolt is a joint venture between Swedish electric vehicle battery manufacturer Northvolt and Norwegian Aluminum and Renewable Energy. energy companies.
According to Hydro’s website, Hydrovolt has the capacity to recycle 12,000 tons of end-of-life batteries each year.
A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that recycled batteries produced at Cylib’s new factory are expected to be used by Porsche, which invested in the startup as part of a 55 million euro financing.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been made public, added that the plan is still in its early stages and has not yet been formalized.
Asked about Porsche’s involvement in the project, a Cylib spokesman said investments from partners such as Porsche were “strategic,” adding that it was working closely with investors on process industrialization and commercial partnerships.
Critical to the transition to electric vehicles
Battery recycling is a priority for the EU, which wants to ensure the sustainable development of the batteries needed to drive 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 recycling technology to repurpose materials from batteries that have reached the end of their useful life.
Earlier this year, the company raised €55 million in funding from investors including climate-focused venture capital firm World Fund, Porsche Venture Partners, Bosch and DeepTech & Climate Fonds.
Cylib said the new factory will mainly serve automotive, battery manufacturing and chemical customers. The startup hopes it will be the first of many, with plans to build additional facilities in Germany and elsewhere in Europe in the coming years.
The new factory is being built on a brownfield site in Chempark, an industrial space primarily used for the chemical industry. Cylib said the location is strategic and existing supply chains are already on site.
The plant is scheduled to begin operations in 2026. CEO Lilian Schwich said the move is key to Cylib’s ability to achieve mass production.
“Reaching industrial-scale production of Cylib will be a key driver in building a strong European battery infrastructure,” Schweich said in a press statement.
“Battery recycling is a pioneer in the circular economy, proving that economic success is compatible with reducing environmental impact,” she added.
