Dormagen, November 15, 2024 – cylib GmbH has received a two-digit million Euro grant funding commitment from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia for the establishment of FOAK (first-of-a-kind) battery recycling plant. In the first phase, the plant will recover all raw materials from the black mass of end-of-life batteries using the proprietary OLiC (Optimized Lithium & Graphite Recovery) technology. The recovery of the raw materials lithium, graphite, cobalt nickel and manganese, which are classified as critical by the EU, is an important contribution to the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act.

The program "Produktives.NRW" has selected four projects for a total of €100 million grant funding to support the development and production of future technologies for climate-neutral and digital transformation in North Rhine-Westphalia.

“This funding is a significant step in scaling our innovative recycling technology and contributing to a circular economy,”  says Dr. Lilian Schwich, founder and CEO of cylib. “Our immense gratitude goes to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Dormagen and the Business Development Agency of Dormagen for their invaluable support.”

“Particularly at a time when the manufacturing industry in Germany and Europe is facing major challenges and the federal and state budgets are in a tight situation, this funding is an outstanding signal of the desire to establish a circular economy in NRW and the associated importance of this project,” adds Dr. Gideon Schwich, founder and COO.

The FOAK project will be implemented in Dormagen and is set to recycle 10,000 tons of black mass (approximately 30,000 tons of used batteries) annually starting in 2027. The plant aims to recover all valuable raw materials while significantly reducing water and chemical usage compared to primary raw material extraction.

In May of this year (2024), the company completed the largest financing round ever in European battery recycling. Porsche Ventures, Bosch Ventures, the DeepTech & Climate Fund, NRW.Ventures and the existing investors World Fund, Vsquared, Speedinvest and 10X Founders participated in the 55 million euro financing round.

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‍About cylib

cylib is a company for holistic and sustainable battery recycling. The end-to-end process developed through many years of research at RWTH Aachen University is characterized by the efficient, resource- and climate-friendly recovery of raw materials such as lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese from battery packs, black mass or production waste. By recycling sustainably sourced secondary raw materials, cylib enables a truly circular economy and resilient European supply chains. The company was founded in Aachen in 2022 by Dr.-Ing. Lilian Schwich, Paul Sabarny and Dr.-Ing. Gideon Schwich and employs over 100 people.

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