In order to speed up its industrial and commercial development, MECAWARE has secured €40 million from a pool of investors, the French government, under the auspices of the France 2030 plan, and its banking partners.
This funding will enable the industrialisation of the pilot scheme for the recycling of battery production scrap (Gigafactories Scrap – ScrapCO2MET project), which will be operational in 2025. This tool will produce 50 tonnes of recycled metal per year, in particular, lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. To prepare for this development, MECAWARE is finalising the installation of its new Technical Centre on the outskirts of Lyon (Vénissieux). This 1,600m2 site includes offices, an R&D laboratory and a factory building.
MECAWARE, the only metal extraction process of its kind in the world
MECAWARE is currently focusing on the recycling of end-of-life batteries and production scrap from battery-making factories. Its technology is based on ground-breaking innovation in dynamic combinatorial chemistry. It uses the synergy caused from the capture of CO2 and the recycling of critical metals. Subject to four patents, it was recognised in 2020 by the American Chemical Society and the Nature Chemistry journal.
Its application enables the extraction of metals in a closed loop, free from inputs that impact the environment, without producing any effluent and with no special energy requirements. Consequently, its economic and ecological value is particularly appealing: the MECAWARE eco²-efficiency adapts to feedstocks and to evolutions in battery technology.
Arnaud Villers d’Arbouet, Co-Founder and CEO of MECAWARE explains: “MECAWARE is thus deploying a ground-breaking and scalable industrial solution as part of a circular economy approach. It makes it possible to secure supplies of raw materials, enabling the strategic independence of our territories to bolster the energy transition, all in compliance with EU Regulations. Our technological solution addresses the current problems caused by traditional processes.”
