Tozero pioneers battery recycling facility in Germany

Recycling startup Tozero has launched what is claimed to be the first industrial demonstration plant in Germany capable of supplying lithium, graphite and a nickel-cobalt mix at scale.

The facility at Gendorf Chemical Park in Bavaria was established in six months and can process more than 1 500 tonnes of end-of-life batteries every year. Using Tozero’s proprietary acid-free, hydrometallurgical process, recycling takes place in a single cycle and the recovered materials are pure enough to feed directly back into manufacturing.

Demo success

Tozero has previously demonstrated the use of its recycled lithium and graphite in lithium-ion batteries with leading cathode and anode manufacturers. The new facility will deliver recycled lithium and graphite to companies across sectors including construction, ceramics and lubricants, with further materials and industries to follow.

The company was founded in 2022 by entrepreneur and mechanical engineer Sarah Fleischer and metallurgy expert Ksenija Milicevic Neumann.

​‘Europe doesn’t yet have the critical raw materials it needs to build and scale its own energy transition and battery industry,’ saysceo Fleischer. ‘Our technology changes this by enabling us to recycle end-of-life batteries and extract these materials at industrial scale for the first time.

Beyond a pilot

‘In just under four years, tozero has gone from lab-scale experiments to industrial operations and we’re consistently proving that recycling isn’t just a pilot project – it can be delivered at a level capable of giving Europe a homegrown, circular supply of critical materials its future runs on.’

Tozero cto Neumann adds:‘Scaling our technology from lab to industrial production in such a short time is a defining milestone for any deep-tech founder and marks the transition from development to real-world validation at industrial scale.’

The demonstration plant will now form the blueprint for a full-scale commercial operation planned for 2030.