Bosch Ventures invests in pair of battery recycling startups

Bosch Ventures, the corporate venture capital unit of the Germany-based Bosch Group, has announced two significant investments in the battery recycling sector within a week, directing funds to Pineville, North Carolina-based Li Industries and Germany-based Cylib.

Bosch Ventures Managing Director Ingo Ramesohl says that in an electrified world, battery recycling makes a significant contribution to conserving natural resources, adding, "With our investments, we can help Cylib and Li Industries to scale their production."

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Bosch’s investment in Li Industries was first announced May 9, when it co-led a $36 million Series B funding round together with Khosla Ventures and LG Tech Ventures. “We are thrilled to be backed by such a strong group of investors,” Li Industries cofounder and CEO Zheng Li said at the time.

According to Bosch, Li Industries is poised to tackle significant challenges in the lithium-ion battery circular supply chain with scalable solutions.

“Li Industries is the first and only company in the U.S. capable of economically and sustainably recycling low/no cobalt batteries, such as lithium iron phosphate [LFP], at scale using their unique Direct E2E recycling technology,” Ramesohl says.

In the case of Cylib, it raised 55 million euros ($59.5 million) in less than 24 months after starting up operations. Founded in 2022, the company offers proprietary technology for end-to-end recycling of lithium-ion batteries and says it already has delivered a successful pilot line and completed projects with major automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as battery manufacturers.

Bosch says Cylib’s process is characterized by an efficient, resource- and climate-friendly recovery of raw materials, including lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese from battery packs, black mass or production scrap.

“The funding round we announced today will empower us to embark on our next phase of expansion and deepen existing collaborations as we grow our next-generation battery recycling at an industrial scale,” Cylib CEO Lilian Schwich says. “Bosch Ventures joined the oversubscribed round on Cylib’s way to become Europe’s primary battery recycler.”

With the rapid growth of battery-driven electric vehicles (EVs), e-bikes, power tools and household appliances, Bosch says the demand for battery recycling is soaring and, similar to the U.S., the EU already has ranked the materials inside EV batteries as strategic critical raw materials and has set its latest stringent battery recycling regulations accordingly. Bosch says Cylib’s process enables battery producers, automotive OEMs and all companies operating in the battery value chain to recycle elements locally and achieve these requirements.

“Our investments in cutting-edge battery recycling startups underscore our commitment to pioneering technologies that not only promise substantial market growth but also offer solutions to one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time,” Ramesohl says. “We are excited to be at the forefront of this vital industry, and we are proud to support and connect multiple companies from different geographies in this space.”