The impact scientists cutting Europe’s reliance on materials from China – by recycling batteries
16 dec. 2024
10:30
Cylib has a vision for making European battery makers less reliant on imported metals from China. Now they're moving rapidly toward full-scale industrialisation in Germany, thanks to state funding and the backing of industry giants like Porsche.
Cylib co-founder Lilian Schwich developed a new water-based process for recycling lithium-ion batteries when she was a researcher at RWTH Aachen University. Two years after turning that into a startup, the company she started with her husband Gideon Schwich and their research partner Paul Sabarny already employs more than eighty people and has received the backing of private investors and industry players who are convinced that Cylib can meet a strategic European need.
The latest major backer to come onboard is the state government in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, which is investing millions of euros into helping Cylib build a first-of-its kind battery recycling plant that will take the company closer to full-scale industrialisation.