Luxembourg-headquartered Circu Li-ion, a battery recycling startup, has closed a €8.5 million in seed financing. The round includes €4.5 million in equity, which was led by BonVenture known for investing in Aaron.ai and Resourcify. Also, it saw additional backing from an undisclosed group of battery, AI, and industry experts, and a significant participation of the company’s management team.
The investment is complemented by €4 million in grants from the EICA (European Innovation Council Accelerator) and collaborations with recyclers and OEMs.
Growth and expansion plans
The funding will be utilised to expand Circu Li-ion’s AI-driven battery upcycling solution, optimise battery recycling processes, and develop the world’s largest battery recycling data repository, revolutionising material management and recycling practices.
Furthermore, Circu Li-ion will expand its partnerships with leading OEMs and recyclers to create a truly circular battery value chain in Europe amidst the booming EV battery market.
Besides this, the company plans to expand its main production facility near Karlsruhe, Germany to 2,000 m2, while further growing its Berlin satellite office.
Upcycling platform for end-of-life batteries
Circu Li-ion was founded by Antoine Welter and Xavier Kohll in 2021 with the mission to save the planet by boosting the value of each battery.
The company revolutionises the battery value chain by automating and scaling the disassembly of batteries and the diagnostic of cells. It contributes to a more economical and ecological battery recycling. The company provides its technology to leading players in sectors such as electric vehicles, micro-mobility, power tools, energy storage systems, and recycling.
Its solution offers the possibility to give used batteries a second life through upcycling instead of recycling, thereby saving money and the planet.
Using AI, Circu Li-ion will elevate battery sorting standards and introduce an intelligent sorting system, improving accuracy and efficiency while reducing sorting times and ensuring maximal recovery of valuable materials.
Antoine Welter, CEO & Co-Founder Circu Li-ion, said: “We’re happy to double down on our development speed, turning this fresh funding into smarter, data-focused solutions that make battery recycling economically and ecologically viable for everyone. For this, the key is a great team – we will further invest in our team and double our size of currently 34 colleagues within the next twelve months.”
Xavier Kohll, CTO & Co-Founder Circu Li-ion, said: “We are evolving our products with the agility and adaptability the swift-moving battery market demands. It’s more than creating relevancy – it’s about pioneering flexible solutions that carve out new possibilities for cleaner battery recycling.”
Nikolaj Klebert, Investment Manager, BonVenture, added: “Since the first contact with the outstanding team, we have been enthusiastic about the highly dynamic environment of battery up- and recycling in which they have occupied the field very early and taken a dominant role. Circu Li-ion puts a stop to the current destruction of value in the form of a technically sophisticated and particularly innovative solution, thus unlocking previously inaccessible potential down to the level of the individual cell.”
