German startup Tozero, which specialises in recycling lithium-ion batteries, has successfully completed a battery cell test with 100 per cent recycled graphite. Tozero claims to be the first company to achieve this on an industrial scale.
According to Tozero, using 100 per cent recycled graphite for battery cell production at an industry scale is possible. The successful cell test shows comparable performance to a battery cell made from new graphite.
Tozero explains that, in conventional recycling methods, graphite is often “burned or lost to waste streams due to the use of strong acids.” However, it claims that its own process recovers more than 80 per cent of the graphite while maintaining its morphological integrity on an industrial scale. That means “the material to be refined back to battery-grade quality.”
Sarah Fleischer, co-founder and CEO of Tozero, said: “This is a milestone not just for Tozero, but for Europe’s battery industry as a whole. We’ve already seen our recycled lithium successfully re-enter Europe’s supply chain, and now we’re proving the same for graphite. Despite being essential for battery stability, graphite is often overlooked in recycling—largely seen as unrecoverable—yet it is even more critical and geopolitically exposed than lithium.”
With its FOAK plant, Tozero can recover even more critical materials and help companies worldwide decarbonise, secure local supply chains and transition to a truly circular economy by “bringing lithium-ion battery waste to zero,” she added.
Because of the ramp-up of electric mobility and the growing need for large-scale renewable energy storage, there is an increase in demand for key materials for batteries, including graphite. According to the company, demand for graphite is expected to increase by 20 to 25 times the current level by 2040 in the EU alone.
Currently, 98 per cent of European graphite is imported, Tozero explains, adding that China controls over 90 per cent of global supply, “leaving battery manufacturers vulnerable to trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions.” Moreover, graphite accounts for up to 40% of a battery’s total carbon footprint, making it even more important to reuse the material from old EV batteries.
Tozero opened its pilot plant in 2023 in Karlsfeld near Munich, Germany. There, it has been creating black mass and testing its chemical process of component separation.
