On 25September, Members of the Cleantech Friendship Group Lídia Pereira,Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, Matthias Ecke, Michael Bloss and Sara Matthieu visitedthe battery recycling pilot plant of cylib, one of the most promising Europeancircular cleantech scale-ups.

Located in Aachen, Germany, cylib’s recycling facility usesa patented hydrometallurgical process able to recover seven critical rawmaterials from end-of-life batteries, including lithium and graphite, anddeliver world-leading battery-grade purities. Most recyclers don’t recover allthese materials – a missed market opportunity, especially considering thestrategic dependencies Europe faces regarding critical raw materials.

Key takeaways from the visit are:

• Battery recycling is not just an environmental asset, butalso a strategic industrial capability.
• Europe’s industry is threatened by Chinese dominance, and both Europe and theUS are heavily dependent on China for the battery value chain.
• As electrification progresses, there is going to be a bigger market forrecycling EV batteries.

As highlighted by President Ursula von der Leyenin her recent State of the Union Speech, the end goal is to have a Europeanbattery value chain and to reduce Europe’s dependencies on China. A strongbattery market is a key enabler to other cleantech and crucial for Europe’sindustrial resilience. During the site visit, MEPs learned that recyclingshould be a huge part of this strategy, as it enhances independence,circularity, and industrial competitiveness.

Learn more about cylib: https://www.cylib.de/

‍