Europe imports nearly all of its lithium and graphite. Both materials are essential to electric vehicles and grid storage, and both are sourced almost entirely from outside the continent. China controls global graphite supplies, and 99% of Europe’s lithium comes from abroad. Munich startup tozero is now operating a lithium-ion battery recycling plant that pulls these materials back from end-of-life batteries and reintroduces them into the domestic supply chain.
The plant is situated in Bavaria at Chemical Park Gendorf and was built in a record six months. It can process over 1,500 tonnes of battery waste annually and produce 100 tonnes of high-purity lithium carbonate per year. That output is the equivalent of keeping 6,000 electric vehicle batteries out of landfill, every year.
How The Process Works:
Unlike conventional pyrometallurgical recycling processes that recover copper and aluminium while losing lithium and graphite, tozero’s proprietary acid-free hydrometallurgical process runs in a single cycle and produces materials pure enough to feed directly back into battery cell manufacturing without further refinement.
The company focuses exclusively on processing black mass, which is the material left after batteries are mechanically broken down. Dismantling and preparation are handled by external partners, which keeps the operation leaner and more scalable. This approach minimises safety risks, reduces logistics costs, and increases the flexibility and scalability of the recycling process.
Milestones Already Reached:
In April 2024, nine months after opening its Munich pilot facility, tozero became the first company in Europe to deliver recycled lithium to commercial customers. In February 2025 it became the first in Europe to qualify 100% recycled graphite for use in lithium-ion battery cell production at industrial scale.
tozero has worked with automotive manufacturers including BMW and MAN on recycling trials and reports lithium recovery rates above 80%, meeting upcoming EU targets. The EU’s 2031 battery recycling targets require that same 80% threshold, meaning tozero is already there, six years ahead of the regulatory deadline.
The Supply Gap Europe Faces:
Industry forecasts suggest demand for lithium will quadruple globally by 2030, while EU demand for graphite could rise 25-fold by 2040. As battery demand surges, analysts warn of a potential global supply gap exceeding 33% from 2035 onwards.
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act targets at least 25% of supply coming from recycling. Currently, Europe is heavily dependent on imports, particularly for lithium and graphite, while the volume of used batteries is growing due to the rise of electric mobility. tozero’s approach converts that growing stockpile of end-of-life batteries into a domestic source of critical raw materials, reducing pressure on imported supply.
The Founders and The Team:
tozero was founded in 2022 by Sarah Fleischer, a serial entrepreneur and mechanical engineer, and Dr Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, a leading metallurgy expert. tozero works with partners across 10 European countries from its Munich base.
The recycled lithium carbonate, graphite, and nickel-cobalt mixtures are currently sold to companies in the construction, ceramics, and lubricants sectors, with additional raw materials and industries to follow. The Gendorf plant now serves as the operational blueprint for everything that comes next.
The 2030 Commercial Target:
The demo plant will serve as the blueprint for a full-scale commercial facility targeting the production of thousands of tonnes of lithium carbonate and graphite, forming the blueprint for Europe’s circular supply of critical materials. That facility is planned for completion by 2030.
tozero describes its process as delivering a green discount rather than a green premium, positioning recycled materials as a cost-competitive alternative to virgin extraction.
For anyone tracking the European battery supply chain, lithium-ion battery recycling, or critical raw material sourcing, tozero’s Gendorf plant marks the first time this has moved from pilot to industrial reality on home soil. The company has published information on partnership opportunities directly on its website for eMobility firms, battery manufacturers, and electronic waste recyclers looking to connect with a domestic recycling source.
