Europe advances with industrial-scale battery recycling in Bavaria

Europe’s scramble for critical battery materials has found a practical foothold with the start of industrial-scale recycling in Bavaria, a development that could shift supply economics as the continent electrifies transport and industry. According to a report by tech.eu and company statements, Munich-based recycler tozero has commissioned an industrial demonstration plant at Chemical Park Gendorf capable of processing in excess of 1,500 tonnes of end-of-life battery waste annually and producing high-purity lithium carbonate, recovered graphite and a nickel‑cobalt mix.

The facility, established in six months according to tozero, follows the startup’s first commercial delivery of recycled lithium in April 2024 and builds on earlier pilot work with vehicle manufacturers. Company materials state their hydrometallurgical, acid‑free process delivers recovery rates above 80 per cent, meeting the European Commission’s long‑term targets and, the firm says, allowing materials to be returned into manufacturing without additional refining. According to tozero’s press releases, the firm has also produced battery‑grade recycled graphite at industrial scale and aims to supply more than 2,000 tonnes of recycled graphite by 2027, with a target to exceed 10,000 tonnes by 2030.

For businesses planning decarbonisation roadmaps, the implication is twofold: recycled streams can reduce exposure to geopolitically concentrated suppliers, and they can become a price‑competitive source of feedstock. Industry data cited in the tech.eu coverage highlights the mismatch between Europe’s growing demand for lithium and graphite and its near-total reliance on imports; roughly all of the EU’s lithium and almost the entire refined graphite supply are currently sourced from outside Europe, particularly China. That concentration has prompted policymakers to set recycling thresholds in the Critical Raw Materials Act and the European Battery Directive, creating regulatory drivers for domestic recovery capacity.

tozero’s founders frame the company as responding to both regulatory and commercial pressures. Speaking to tech.eu, co‑founder Sarah Fleischer described the business pivot from seeking a “green premium” to competing on cost, arguing that higher material concentrations in spent batteries make recycling inherently more efficient than primary mining. “We see ourselves as the miner of tomorrow,” she said. The company has also worked with multiple OEMs through pilots to demonstrate process flexibility across battery chemistries and to validate compliance with future EU recovery rules; Fleischer told tech.eu the pilots confirmed the process is chemistry‑agnostic and capable of meeting 2031 recovery standards.

The technological approach differs from pyrometallurgical routes that rely on high‑temperature smelting and tend to lose lithium and graphite. According to tozero’s technical statements, their low‑temperature, water‑based chemical route preserves these light elements and yields products suitable for anode and cathode production. That claim is bolstered by the company’s reported commercial qualification of recycled materials with cell component manufacturers and the successful use of 100 per cent recycled anode material in battery cell production.

Scaling remains the critical test. tozero positions the Gendorf demonstration plant as a template for a commercial roll‑out aimed at producing thousands of tonnes of lithium carbonate and graphite by 2030. The company has signalled a hybrid scaling strategy, operating its own facilities while partnering on engineering and deployment; in 2025 it signed a memorandum of understanding with JGC Corporation to tap large‑scale plant‑building expertise. For industrial customers, the practical consequence is the potential emergence of European supply chains for materials used not only by battery makers but by sectors such as glass, ceramics, lubricants and construction.

Financing and risk appetite are recurring constraints, Fleischer told tech.eu. She argued Europe needs to accept greater project risk and change capital allocation patterns to back multiple industrial ventures simultaneously rather than concentrating support on single winners. For decarbonisation planners and procurement teams, that means monitoring both policy incentives and capital flows, since access to debt for capital‑intensive recycling plants will determine how quickly domestic capacity expands.

Despite the optimistic tone, tozero and observers acknowledge recycling will complement rather than replace mining given the steep demand trajectory for batteries and energy storage. Nevertheless, industry actors view higher‑quality recycled lithium and graphite as a means to lower overall carbon intensity, stabilise input costs and reduce strategic dependence on external suppliers. According to tozero’s public figures, the current demonstration plant equates to diverting the battery content of thousands of electric vehicles from landfill, and the company is recruiting as it prepares for larger‑scale operations.

For European firms managing supply‑chain decarbonisation, the arrival of commercially validated recycling processes shifts a previously theoretical option into a near‑term procurement consideration. As recycling capacity grows, buyers should reassess sourcing strategies to incorporate recycled feedstocks, engage with recyclers on material specifications and qualification cycles, and factor in evolving regulation that increasingly mandates higher recovery rates for end‑of‑life batteries.