tozero lance la production industrielle de lithium et graphite recyclés en Bavière
tozero has commissioned its first industrial demonstration plant in Gendorf, Germany, producing lithium, graphite and a nickel-cobalt mix from end-of-life batteries, set up in just six months.
| Sectors | Critical Metals, Lithium, Energy Storage, Batteries |
|---|---|
| Themes | Project Development, Commissioning |
| Countries | Germany |
Startup tozero has commissioned its first industrial demonstration plant at Chemical Park Gendorf in Bavaria, the company says. Set up in just six months, the facility can process more than 1,500 tonnes of battery waste per year. It produces high-purity lithium carbonate, graphite and a nickel-cobalt mix, designed to feed directly back into battery manufacturing supply chains. Growing pressure on supply chains is simultaneously driving investment in large-scale energy storage deployment across Europe.
An acid-free hydrometallurgical process
tozero's proprietary process relies on acid-free hydrometallurgy, recovering materials in a single cycle. According to the company, the recovered materials are pure enough to feed directly back into lithium-ion battery manufacturing lines. The startup says it has already qualified its recycled lithium and graphite with leading cathode and anode manufacturers. The plant would divert the equivalent of 6,000 electric vehicles' worth of batteries from landfill, according to tozero.
Europe remains almost entirely reliant on imports for these materials: 99% of its lithium comes from abroad and China controls global graphite supplies. Global demand for lithium is set to quadruple by 2030, while EU graphite demand could rise by up to 25 times by 2040, driven by electric vehicles, battery storage and industrial electrification. A global supply gap exceeding 33% is projected from 2035 onward, according to the company's cited forecasts.
Full-scale commercial operations targeted for 2030
This demonstration plant will serve as a blueprint for a full-scale commercial facility planned for 2030, capable of producing thousands of tonnes of lithium carbonate and graphite, tozero says. The company aligns its ambitions with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which targets 25% of the European Union's critical material supply from recycling sources.
Founded in 2022 by Sarah Fleischer, co-founder and CEO, and Dr. Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, co-founder and CTO, tozero positions itself as a "miner of tomorrow." The company aims to reduce Europe's dependence on critical raw material imports by recovering value from end-of-life batteries already present across the continent.
