cylib Secures €63.4 Million Grant for LFP Battery Recycling Facility

German battery recycler cylib has secured €63.4 million in public funding to expand its Dormagen plant and build what it says will be Europe’s first industrial-scale recycling line dedicated to lithium iron phosphate batteries, a move aimed at closing a growing gap in the region’s battery materials supply chain, according to company statements and German government reporting.

The grant, awarded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under the STARK support program, will finance the second phase of development at the Chempark Dormagen site in North Rhine-Westphalia. Once completed, the expansion will lift the facility’s planned capacity to 60,000 tonnes per year, enough to process batteries equivalent to roughly 140,000 electric vehicles, cylib said.

Founded in Aachen in 2022, cylib has moved quickly from laboratory research into pilot operations as Europe accelerates efforts to localise battery recycling and reduce dependence on imported raw materials. The company currently employs about 120 people and plans to begin industrial production in Dormagen in 2027. Including the latest award, cylib has raised more than €140 million through a combination of non-dilutive public grants and Series A equity financing, reflecting growing policy and investor interest in domestic battery recycling capacity.

European recycling infrastructure has historically focused on nickel manganese cobalt chemistries, which offer higher immediate metal values. Analysts note that this focus is increasingly misaligned with market trends. Data published by industry groups show that LFP batteries now account for close to half of global electric vehicle battery demand and dominate stationary energy storage, driven by lower costs and improved performance. Europe, however, still lacks dedicated industrial-scale facilities to recycle LFP batteries, leaving a structural vulnerability as volumes of end-of-life units rise later this decade.

cylib said the new funding will support construction of a 30,000-tonne LFP recycling line alongside a planned 30,000-tonne NMC line, allowing the Dormagen plant to handle all major battery chemistries from end-of-life batteries, production scrap and black mass. Observers say such flexibility is likely to become increasingly important as manufacturers diversify chemistries and as the EU Battery Regulation tightens recovery and traceability requirements.

Co-founder and co-chief executive Lilian Schwich said the grant underscored Germany’s commitment to building a circular battery economy and strengthening raw material resilience. Her fellow co-CEO Gideon Schwich said pilot projects with European partners had already highlighted an urgent need for LFP recycling capacity, adding that the support would help move the company from pilot-scale success to full industrial deployment.

The STARK program is designed to support economic transformation in former coal regions, and the Dormagen expansion is expected to create around 180 additional jobs locally. cylib said the facility aims to achieve material recovery rates of up to 90% for both LFP and NMC batteries, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 80% compared with primary raw material extraction. The plant will use closed-loop water systems and is being designed to comply fully with EU battery regulations.

Industry groups argue that projects like Dormagen will be critical if Europe is to meet recycling targets and secure secondary supplies of lithium and other key materials as electric vehicle adoption accelerates. While commercial volumes of spent EV batteries remain limited today, forecasts suggest a sharp increase after 2030, making early investment in recycling infrastructure a strategic priority.

Source: cylib

SUNSHINE Spotlight: A German-backed expansion at Dormagen positions cylib to fill Europe’s emerging LFP battery recycling gap as the region prepares for a surge in end-of-life electric vehicle batteries.