DEScycle has secured more than €10 million in grant funding over the past 10 months, lifting its total capital raised to around £30 million across equity, grants, and partner funding. The London company builds metals processing infrastructure that recovers critical and precious metals, and this latest money comes entirely from competitive UK and European innovation programmes.
The figure carries real weight. It points to strong public backing for domestic metals recovery at a moment when the UK and Europe both want steadier supply chains for critical raw materials.
Investors:
The €10 million arrived through five separate programmes. DEScycle won €5 million from the EU Horizon, €2.5 million from the EIC Accelerator, and €1.5 million from Germany’s SPRIND. On the UK side, it picked up £0.9 million through Innovate UK Investor Partnerships and £0.5 million via a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.
Each programme runs its own competitive selection, so winning across all five reflects broad confidence in the company’s approach. The grants do not dilute equity, which means DEScycle keeps the full amount and stays focused on building its platform rather than trading away ownership.
How the Tech Works
DEScycle uses deep eutectic solvents to pull metals out of waste streams. These solvents form a green class of chemistry that dissolves metals at low temperatures, working in place of the high heat and harsh acids used in older recovery methods. The result is a cleaner process that targets metals such as gold, copper, and palladium.
The idea traces back to an accidental discovery at the University of London, where a deep eutectic solvent was found to dissolve gold during an archaeology project. The team, which founded DEScycle in 2018, turned that finding into a working recovery method and then into a platform built for industry.
A Modular Recovery Platform:
The company runs a distributed, modular platform, so recovery units can sit close to where waste is created. It starts with electronic waste, turning discarded devices into a domestic source of metals rather than depending on long international supply chains. This approach fits the wider push toward CleanTech funding across Europe.
Smaller units that deploy in a repeatable way also lower the barrier to entry. Instead of one large plant carrying every cost, DEScycle can place capacity where the material already sits, which keeps recovery local and brings supply closer to home for the businesses that need it.
Demo Plant and Partners:
Construction of the demo plant is underway in Teesside, with launch set for the second half of 2026. The new funding lets DEScycle run that plant for longer, gather more data, and refine design decisions ahead of commercial scale-up. Running the plant for an extended period also produces the kind of real operating data that informs the next build.
The company brings commercial validation from Mitsubishi, GAP Group, and Cisco. GAP Group and Cisco are confirmed for customer trials in 2026. On top of the grants, DEScycle raised over £2 million in fresh equity, led by existing shareholders and new investor Archipelago, which extends its runway through 2027.
Building Supply Chain Trust:
Part of the grant money funds digital product passports. These give recovered metals a clear record of origin, so customers can trace where each batch came from as it moves across the supply chain.
That traceability matters for sectors like advanced manufacturing, electrification, and AI infrastructure, where buyers increasingly want secure and verifiable sources. Fred White, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, said the funding helps the company bring a stronger product to market and make sharper design calls before scaling.
Why this Matters Now:
Governments across the UK and Europe now treat critical raw materials as a strategic priority. Metals processing has stayed centralised and capital-heavy, which opens room for a modular method that recovers metals closer to the source and shortens the journey from waste to usable supply.
DEScycle’s funding run shows how grant programmes can carry a DeepTech startup from early development toward repeatable industrial deployment. For founders and operators tracking critical metals recovery, it stands as a clear example of public money backing domestic supply at real scale.
