What Cylib does

Cylib GmbH is a German battery recycling company founded in 2022 as a spin-off of RWTH Aachen University and headquartered in Aachen. It runs a holistic, water-based hydrometallurgical recycling process that recovers lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, gigafactory production scrap, and black mass, with a stated recovery rate above 90% and an externally verified 80% lower carbon footprint than virgin raw material extraction. The process is operated with 100% renewable electricity and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, and certified waste management company status, positioning cyclib to meet EU battery regulation recycled-content mandates.

The company sells recycled battery raw materials under the cylium® (lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide) and cygraph® (graphite) brands, alongside nickel, cobalt, and manganese compounds, with chemical form and purity customized to partner specifications. It also generates recycling service revenue via three dedicated feedstock intake streams (end-of-life batteries, production scrap, and black mass) and earns R&D and qualification income through consortium partnerships such as the SIB:DE sodium-ion initiative, Syensqo lithium hydroxide qualification, and Vianode graphite qualification. Commercial activity is enterprise B2B, quote-based, and supported by strategic ecosystem partners including Porsche Ventures, Bosch, World Fund, Syensqo, Vianode, Webasto, and Pure Battery Technologies.

Cylib currently operates a pilot plant in Aachen (commissioned September 2023) and is constructing a First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) industrial recycling plant at Currenta's Chempark Dormagen in North Rhine-Westphalia with a planned 30,000-tonne-per-year capacity (groundbreaking September 2024), expandable to 60,000 tonnes per year by 2027 through a €63.4M federal grant for Europe's first industrial-scale LFP recycling line. Cumulative funding exceeds €90M across Seed, Seed extension, and Series A equity rounds plus EU, NRW, and German federal grants, with the company website inviting Series B+ investor conversations alongside debt and other financing.

Name

Cylib

Legal name

cylib GmbH

Website

https://cylib.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cylib is a German RWTH Aachen spin-off that runs a water-based, hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery recycling process to recover lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and manganese for sale to battery cell makers, automotive OEMs, and advanced materials companies, with pilot operations in Aachen and an industrial plant under construction at Chempark Dormagen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Battery Materials Recycling

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Solid Waste Collection (562111)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithium-ion Battery Recycling (Mechanical, Hydro, Direct Recycling) (EUAIAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hydrometallurgical Recycling & Refining (Leaching, Solvent Extraction, Precipitation) (EUAFACAD), Battery Raw Materials Mining & Refining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Graphite) (EUAFABAA), Battery Recycling & Materials Recovery (Li-ion, LFP, Flow, Lead-Acid) (EUAMALAE)

Keywords

• Battery recycling
• Lithium-ion recycling
• Hydrometallurgical recycling
• Battery raw materials
• Circular battery economy

Headquarters

HQ city

Aachen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sale of recycled battery raw materials: Sale of high-purity recycled materials (cylium® lithium carbonate/compounds, cygraph® graphite, plus nickel, cobalt and manganese compounds) to battery manufacturers, cell producers and material companies. Materials are customised in chemical form and purity to partner specifications.
2. Recycling services (toll processing): Toll recycling services for three input streams: end-of-life batteries, production scraps from gigafactories, and black mass from shredded batteries. Each input stream has a dedicated website flow (Recycle with us).
3. R&D and consortium collaboration services: Research collaborations with industry and research partners (e.g., SIB:DE sodium-ion battery consortium, Syensqo lithium hydroxide qualification, Vianode graphite qualification) providing technology development and qualification revenues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cylib (cylib GmbH) is a German battery recycling company that recovers lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from end-of-life and production-scrap lithium-ion batteries using a proprietary water-based hydrometallurgical process. The company operates industrial recycling plants in Aachen and Dormagen, Germany, and sells the recovered battery-grade raw materials — under brands such as cylium® and cygraph® — to battery manufacturers, cell producers, automotive OEMs, and gigafactories.

Product overview

Cylib offers a single, end-to-end battery recycling platform built on a proprietary, water-based, hydrometallurgical process developed at RWTH Aachen University. The platform is structured around three feedstock intake services — End-of-life battery recycling, Production scraps recycling, and Black mass recycling — which together feed cylib's output product portfolio of recycled battery raw materials: the branded cylium® (high-purity lithium products, including lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide) and cygraph® (recycled graphite) lines, plus recovered cobalt compounds, manganese sulfate / manganese compounds, and nickel compounds. The pilot plant in Aachen and the First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) industrial plant at CHEMPARK Dormagen integrate the recycling steps — from discharging used batteries to producing refined materials — so that recovered products can be re-integrated into the European battery supply chain. Partnerships (e.g., with Syensqo for lithium hydroxide, with Vianode for graphite, with Pure Battery Technologies and Webasto) extend cylib's value-chain reach into next-generation batteries and automotive OEMs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• cylium®: cylib's high-purity lithium product, recovered using the company's proprietary water-based technology. Includes lithium carbonate and other lithium compounds extracted with minimal environmental impact for sustainable battery recycling.
• cygraph®

Products and services

• cylib 360° (holistic battery recycling) End-to-end hydrometallurgical recycling service that takes in end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and production scrap and recovers battery-grade raw materials (lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, manganese) for reuse in new battery cell production; targeted at battery manufacturers, cell producers, automotive OEMs, and gigafactories.
• Production scrap recycling Recycling line accepting production scrap, off-spec electrodes, and gigafactory rejects, recovering valuable active materials and reintroducing them into the production loop; targeted at battery cell manufacturers and gigafactories.
• Black mass recycling Hydrometallurgical processing of black mass (intermediate from mechanical pre-processing) to extract lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese salts; targeted at black mass producers, refineries, and other recyclers.
• cylib.one research service Lab- and pilot-scale recycling and R&D collaboration service for industry and research partners, enabling material-characterization work and process development on a smaller plant; targeted at battery manufacturers, OEMs, and research institutions.
• cylib.solutions custom hydrometallurgy Bespoke hydrometallurgical process development, plant engineering, and integration support for partners seeking to deploy recycling at their own sites; targeted at industrial battery and materials companies.
• cylib.collect take-back / collection system Logistics and take-back service for collecting end-of-life EV batteries and stationary storage batteries for delivery into Cylib's recycling plants; targeted at automotive OEMs, fleet operators, and battery manufacturers.
• cylib.care consumer drop-off Consumer-facing drop-off service for end-of-life batteries, operated in cooperation with retailers and municipalities; provides an entry point for consumer batteries into Cylib's recycling loop.
• cylib.classify material analysis Analytical and characterization service that classifies incoming battery feedstock (chemistry, state of health, composition) to route it to the appropriate recycling process; targeted at collectors, OEMs, and recycling partners.
• Recovered battery raw materials (cyclium®, cygraph®, cobalt, nickel, manganese) Battery-grade recycled raw materials including lithium hydroxide (cyclium®), graphite (cygraph®), cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate, and manganese sulfate, produced through the hydrometallurgical process; targeted at battery cell and cathode/anode material manufacturers.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• VianodeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026MOU (June 2026) for development and potential future supply of recycled graphite for next-generation batteries: cyclib supplies high-quality recycled graphite concentrate (OLiC technology, 90% recovery, 80% lower CO2 vs. mining) and Vianode develops/validates its use in anode materials via pilot-scale testing; intent to negotiate a binding commercial supply agreement if pilot succeeds.
• SIB:DE consortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2026Major German industry and research consortium for sodium-ion batteries; cyclib joins to pioneer sodium-ion battery recycling and establish circular value chains for next-generation batteries.
• SyensqocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2025Joint milestone (July 2025) producing high-purity battery-grade lithium hydroxide from spent EV batteries using cyclib's recycling process — one of very few recycling companies able to produce lithium at battery-grade, especially lithium hydroxide.
• Pure Battery Technologies (PBT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2025MOU (June 2025) between PBT (Brisbane/Frankfurt am Main) and cyclib (Aachen) to strengthen the European battery recycling value chain.
• WebastocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2025Partnership (March 2025) between top-100 automotive supplier Webasto and cyclib to recycle used batteries into urgently needed raw materials for tomorrow's vehicles.
• Currenta (Chempark Dormagen)flagshipOthers · 5 September 2024Site host for cyclib's FOAK industrial recycling plant at Chempark Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia (groundbreaking September 2024). Enables 30,000 tons/year capacity plus the planned LFP expansion.
• RWTH Aachen UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding research partner and source of cyclib's technology; cyclib is an RWTH spin-off, and the founders (Dr. Lilian Schwich, Paul Sabarny, Dr. Gideon Schwich) benefited from RWTH Innovation's Ideation Program. cyclib's holistic recovery technology is rooted in years of RWTH research.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Li-Cycle: Toronto-headquartered lithium-ion battery recycler using a combination of mechanical pre-processing and hydrometallurgical refining (Spoke & Hub network). Direct peer to Cylib in the production of black mass and battery-grade refined materials, though Li-Cycle's downstream hub model differs from Cylib's integrated single-site approach.
• Northvolt (Revolt): Swedish battery cell manufacturer with a battery recycling subsidiary (Revolt) that hydrometallurgically recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Closest European peer given overlapping geography, hydrometallurgical technology, and integrated cell-to-recycling model.
• Redwood Materials: US-based battery recycling startup founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, focused on closed-loop recovery of cathode and anode materials. Direct competitor in recycling Li-ion batteries into battery-grade outputs, though primarily US-focused with different process technology.
• Hydrovolt: Norwegian battery recycling joint venture between Norsk Hydro and Northvolt, operating a commercial-scale battery recycling plant in Norway. Direct European peer processing EOL EV batteries into black mass and recovered metals.
• Fortum: Finnish energy company operating a commercial-scale Li-ion battery recycling hydrometallurgical plant in Harjavalta, Finland. Direct European peer using similar hydrometallurgical refining to recover cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium from battery materials.
• Duesenfeld: German battery recycling company using a low-temperature hydrometallurgical process to recover Li, Ni, Co, Mn, and graphite from EOL batteries. Closely comparable to Cylib in technology approach, geography, and target customer base (European battery manufacturers).

Broad incumbents

• Umicore: Belgian global materials technology and recycling group with established battery materials and precious metals recycling operations. Operates Europe's largest battery recycling facility in Hoboken, Belgium, and competes directly with Cylib in the recovery of cobalt, nickel, and lithium.
• BASF: German chemical giant with a Black Mass recycling prototype plant at its Schwarzheide site and broader cathode active materials (CAM) business. Broad incumbent competing with Cylib in battery materials recovery and refining, with significantly greater scale and capital.
• Glencore: Swiss global mining and commodities trading giant with significant lead and cobalt recycling operations and active involvement in battery materials supply chains. Broad incumbent competing with Cylib in commodity-scale recovery of battery-relevant metals.

Emerging players

• Ascend Elements: US-based battery materials company focused on direct cathode-to-cathode recycling using a proprietary hydrometallurgical process. Emerging competitor with overlapping chemistry (recycling of cathode active materials) but primarily US-focused and pursuing a different technical pathway.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cylib

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cylib