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As demand for lithium explodes, battery recycling startup Tozero accelerates scale with initial $11.7 million

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TozeroA Munich-based startup that recovers helpful raw materials from recycled lithium-ion batteries is preparing to scale. The startup just closed an oversubscribed €11 million (roughly $11.7 million) seed round to scale up production by constructing its first industrial-scale implementation facility (first of its kind, or FOAK).

Currently, Tozero’s pilot plant processes nine tons of used lithium-ion batteries a day, however the startup is aiming for unlimited capability in what it hopes can be just just a few years of scaling up its operations.

“Other competitors are raising much more money to get into an industrial plant. But because our process and our technology are so lean and efficient, we don’t need more than that to achieve our first industrial deployment or what the investing world would call a “first-of-its-kind” factory. This is what we intend to build,” co-founder and CEO Dr. Sarah Fleischer (pictured above, left) told TechCrunch.

The startup claims that after the Tozero process gains industrial speed and functionality, there can be no hard limits on what it may well achieve when it comes to battery recycling, so long as it has access to waste streams.

“The goal of FOAK is actually to get into the actual, continuous production – manufacturing – of the product,” added co-founder and managing director, Dr. Ksenija Milicevic Neumann.

“After that, unlimited, infinite, exponential growth will be possible,” Fleischer said. “Our idea is to independently run plants around the world. We’re focusing on Germany, Europe, and then moving on to North America. But once we get to this plant (FOAK), we will be able to expand Tozero into multiple dimensions around the world. This will therefore be a key milestone in the next phase of growth.”

The startup pointed to forecasts that global demand for lithium is it is anticipated to quadruple to three.1 million metric tons by 2030, driven by the rapid uptake of electrical vehicles and growing demand for large-scale renewable energy batteries. By comparison, lithium mining produced just 180,000 metric tons last 12 months, so recycling can have a key role to play in meeting this demand.

The EU Battery Directive will even introduce an obligation to get better not less than 80% of lithium from batteries by 2031.

“The technology works… So the core part of our technology is already in place. Now we just have to industrialize it,” Fleischer said.

Eliminating bottlenecks in recycling

The startup seeks to eliminate bottlenecks in lithium battery recycling with: water-based carbonation a recovery process that’s more environmentally friendly than conventional pyrometallurgy (smelting). Its lithium recovery method doesn’t involve using harsh acids, as would be the case with other battery recycling processes.

Tozero claims its method also leads to significantly lower emissions – 70% lower – in comparison with mining.

“Commodity security is, in a sense, national security,” Fleischer said. “There are so many underdeveloped industries in Europe that are starving for this material because Europe does not produce lithium carbonate; we import. If you look at (European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen, she states that we import over 97% of lithium carbonate from China. We are therefore highly dependent on the Eastern Front and the mining industry.”

Access to black pulp, a by-product of the mechanical recycling of lithium batteries processed by Tozero, shouldn’t be restricted across borders. In terms of competition, Fleischer describes the market as a “completely blue ocean market” by which battery recycling efforts are largely focused elsewhere. The startup says it may well use black pulp from any style of lithium-ion batteries in order that waste streams may be mixed.

“Lithium will always be there (recyclable batteries), but other elements change – with innovations in battery production – so we don’t care if there is nickel, if there is, for example, a few percent less or more cobalt, but lithium is always present,” said Milicevic Neumann.

Tozero also recovers graphite from blackmass waste streams. The startup says its give attention to these two key raw materials is a “key point of difference” in comparison with other battery recycling players.

The give attention to lithium can also be why the startup’s customers are beating their strategy to its doors.

“Customers are just storming the place,” Fleischer said, stating that market demand is “far too high” for many industrial applications in Europe. Tozero has “over a billion dollars worth of clients in the pipeline who are interested in our material,” she said.

Tozero has delivered the primary batch of high-purity processed lithium to business customers this Aprilnine months after opening pilot facility in Germany.

The need for speed

Tozero was only founded in 2022, so how has it achieved something that larger players within the industry have seemingly didn’t do over the previous few a long time? The startup says it comes right down to focus, speed and inventive pondering.

Speed ​​requires creativity when constructing hardware, Fleischer argued, explaining that the most important challenge for hardware startups is the delivery time of the vital hardware to scale.

“We break things quickly, learn, iterate and improve at a very rapid pace — probably along the lines of Elon Musk’s SpaceX principle — we just build things and see (what happens) until something breaks, we learn from it, iterate and we refine into very fast sprints, which is very unfamiliar to hardware companies,” Fleischer said.

“I would say we protect ourselves through speed,” she added, confirming that Tozero’s approach relies on “process innovations” which can be protected as trade secrets, although not patented. “The entire process, stages or parameters, sequence, method of performing specific activities, is completely our recipe for ‘Coca Cola’ (trade secret),” she added.

Tozero believes it might expand its approach to get better other raw materials that may be used as an “energy source”, although it might not specify what materials it might add later.

The overarching mission is to attain zero waste of key raw materials. “We are quite aware of (the broader challenges of decarbonizing in a sustainable way),” Milicevic Neumann told TechCrunch. “That’s why we also want to focus on recycling some other materials in the future.”

But if it wants to attain real impact, would not Tozero must license its trade secrets to others? They each say they have not fully selected their approach yet, but prefer to retain control of the method as they scale – although they’re open to partnerships.

“On the operational side, we believe that we can only truly deliver the highest quality if we operate the plants ourselves,” Fleischer said. “This can also apply to partners. I mean, we’re open to it. So I don’t want to say yes or no to licensing. Partnerships are great in terms of scale if they are helpful, but we will operate our own plants.”

Tozero’s seed round was led by NordicNinja, with participation from recent investors In-Q-Tel (an American strategic public-private fund), Honda and global infrastructure engineering giant JGC Group. The startup’s €3.5 million pre-season round, closed about two years ago, was led by Berlin-based Atlantic Labs. So far, the Tozero project has raised €17 million, which incorporates a €2.5 million grant from the EU’s research and development support body, the European Innovation Council.

“Tozero’s innovative approach to battery recycling is exactly what Europe needs to secure key supplies in the global electrification race, and Japan would like to cooperate,” Shin Nikkuni, co-founder and managing partner at NordicNinja, said in an announcement. “Sarah and Ksenija, two exceptional founders, have the knowledge and desire to transform the landscape towards sustainable battery solutions. We are excited to support the tozero team as they scale their technology and commercial operations and contribute to a more sustainable and independent energy future for all.”

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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ePlane is looking to boost the Indian government’s interest in air taxis with a new $14 million round

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ePlane e200x air taxi

A pointy increase in the number of personal vehicles and a decline in the use of public and non-motorized transport have resulted in increasing traffic congestion in India, the world’s most populous country, which also struggles with relatively narrower roads and insufficient parking spaces in cities. New Delhi recognizes these challenges and is looking for new ways to quickly meet them.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a September event that air taxis do will soon change into a “reality in India”, indicating the government’s interest in supporting the new mode of transport. Also the national aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation recently formulated rules regarding vertiports prepare the ground for air taxis.

The ePlane company I’m riding this wave.

The startup, founded in 2019 by IIT Madras aerospace engineering professor Satya Chakravarthy, is constructing an electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle called e200x, months after developing unmanned drones for transportation and camera applications. Chakravarthy has a strong pedigree: he is also a co-founder and advisor to Indian space tech startups including Agnikul and GalaxEye, in addition to Indian hyperloop-focused startup TuTr Hyperloop.

Chakravarthy told TechCrunch that ePlane has secured mental property rights while developing urban commuter and cargo aircraft that feature relatively low airspeed and a compact wingspan of 8 meters, as opposed to typical air taxis with wingspans of 12 to 16 meters. Thanks to this, it’ll give you the option to land in tight spaces and make many short trips – up to 60 a day – on a single charge, he says. It claims commuters would cut back their journey times by as much as 85%, at a cost lower than twice the fare they typically pay for an Uber ride.

Image credits:ePlane company

Most eVTOL vehicles are currently multicopters similar to industrial drones, including air taxis equipped with spokes and vertical rotors. Chakravarthy said that while this configuration is easier to develop and implement in the market, it doesn’t allow for longer distances on a single battery charge. ePlane selected a lift-plus-cruise configuration, in which the vehicle has a winged architecture like a typical airplane, but with vertical, drone-like rotors.

“It has been proven that this configuration is actually very reliable because we’ve redundancy in terms of the vertical rotors carrying the weight of the aircraft, while the wings contribute to the gradual balancing of the weight in order that there is no lack of lift during the transition from vertical take-off and hover to flight forward,” he said.

The startup also developed a technology called synergistic lift, which uses vertical rotors even in forward flight to keep the wings sufficiently compact.

Chakravarthy told TechCrunch that ePlane produces aircraft components at its IIT Madras facility, including airframe parts, and designs seats and propellers. The startup outsources the cells but assembles the aircraft’s batteries in-house to manage the plane’s center of gravity.

The startup goals to commercialize its electric air taxi in mid-to-second half of 2026, after obtaining required certifications from Indian and global authorities and creating a prototype of the aircraft in the first half of 2025, Chakravarthy told TechCrunch.

Prior to testing the vehicle, ePlane raised $14 million in a Series B round co-led by Speciale Invest and Singaporean company Antares Ventures. Micelio Mobility, Naval Ravikant, Java Capital, Samarthya Investment Advisors, Redstart (from Naukri) and Anicut also participated in the equity-only round. The round valued the startup at $46 million post-money – greater than double its previous valuation of $21 million.

The fresh capital will help ePlane, which employs greater than 100 people, gain global regulatory certifications and expand its commercialization efforts.

India’s success has helped ePlane expand into other markets, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe.

“We work with the belief that in the future, what is good for India will be good for the world,” Chakravarthy said.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Apple faces a $3.8 billion U.K. damages claim over its “iCloud monopoly.”

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iCloud+ plans: 50GB, 200GB, 2TB, 6TB, 12TB

British consumer rights group ‘Which?’ files an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on behalf of roughly 40 million users of its iCloud cloud storage service.

The class motion lawsuitwhich is searching for £3 billion in damages (about $3.8 billion at current exchange rates), claims Apple broke competition rules by giving preferential treatment to its own cloud storage service and effectively forcing people to pay for iCloud after a “fraud ” prices.

“iOS has a monopoly and control over Apple’s operating systems, and it’s Apple’s responsibility not to make use of this dominance to realize an unfair advantage in related markets, resembling the cloud storage market. But that is exactly what happened,” the corporate wrote in a press release announcing the filing of the claim with the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

The lawsuit alleges that Apple encourages users of its devices to join iCloud for photo storage and other data storage purposes, while making it difficult for consumers to make use of alternative storage providers – including by stopping them from storing or creating all of their data. Back up your phone data to a third-party provider.

“iOS users will have to pay for the service when photos, notes, messages and other data exceed the free 5GB limit,” he noted.

The lawsuit also accuses Apple of overcharging British consumers for iCloud subscriptions as a consequence of a lack of competition. “Apple has increased the price of iCloud for UK consumers by 20% to 29% across all storage tiers in 2023.” – it said, adding that it was searching for compensation from all affected Apple customers and estimating that individual consumers could owe a mean of £70 (about $90), depending on how long they’ve been paying Apple for iCloud services.

An analogous lawsuit – arguing that Apple has unlawfully monopolized the cloud storage market – has been filed within the US in Marchand stays pending after the corporate didn’t throw it.

UK consumers agreed

A UK claim is made on an opt-out basis for UK based consumers who qualify for inclusion. Consumers who live outside the UK and consider they’re eligible must actively conform to participate.

Spokesman Tommy Handley told us that eligible Apple customers include “anyone who ‘acquired’ iCloud services, including non-paying users, within nine years of the Consumer Rights Act coming into force on October 1, 2015.”

Handley also confirmed that the £3 billion compensation figure takes under consideration potential cancellations, duplicates and mortality.

It is a not-for-profit organization, however the litigation is being funded by Litigation Capital Management (LCM), a major global litigation financier, which it says is committed to bringing the case to fruition.

At the identical time, it calls on Apple to settle the claim without having to go to court – offering refunds to consumers and making iOS available to offer users with a “real choice” of cloud services.

Commenting in a statement, Which chief executive Anabel Hoult said: “By making this claim, Which? shows large corporations like Apple that they can’t cheat British consumers without facing consequences. Taking this legal motion means we may help consumers get the redress they deserve, discourage similar behavior in the long run and create a higher, more competitive market.”

Assuming Apple doesn’t seek an out-of-court settlement, the subsequent stage of the dispute will rely on whether the CAT grants Which permission to act as a collective representative of consumers and allows the claim to be heard on a collective basis.

In recent years, there was a rise within the number of sophistication motion lawsuits against Big Tech following a wave of antitrust enforcement on either side of the Atlantic that continues to yield incomplete results and business impact.

In the UK, Apple was also the goal of a class motion lawsuit brought last 12 months on behalf of developers over App Store fees.

Also last 12 months, a separate lawsuit within the UK was filed against Apple and Amazon, accusing them of price collusion.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Lyten buys battery production assets from beleaguered Northvolt

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Cuberg

Silicon Valley battery startup Lyten announced today that it’s acquiring manufacturing assets from Northvolt, a cash-strapped Swedish battery maker.

As a part of the deal, Northvolt is selling manufacturing equipment the corporate inherited through its 2021 acquisition of Cuberg, one other battery startup. Lyten may also take over the lease of the old Cuberg manufacturing facility in San Leandro, California. Lyten will invest $20 million next yr to expand its San Leandro facilities and existing operations in San Jose.

Neither Lyten nor Northvolt immediately responded to questions on the financial terms of the deal.

Unlike many other battery manufacturers, Lyten doesn’t use nickel, cobalt, manganese and even iron in its cathode materials. Instead, it uses low cost and abundant sulfur mixed with a graphene matrix. The anode side doesn’t use graphite, a surface-facing material export restrictions from China. The company claims that this mix creates cells which have the next energy density than nickel-manganese-cobalt cells, but are cheaper to provide than inexpensive lithium iron phosphate.

Northvolt has been having problems currently. The company struggled to ramp up production of lithium-ion batteries and failed to satisfy a big order from BMW, prompting the automaker to cancel a €2 billion contract.

To get monetary savings, the corporate announced in August that it could achieve this snapshot research and development on the Cuberg plant, shedding almost 200 employees. Then in September it said it was shedding a further 1,600 staff, or about 20% of its workforce, and that it had halted two planned factory expansions.

It is unclear whether cost cutting and the Lyten deal can be enough to assist Northvolt survive the approaching yr. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Northvolt needs to lift almost $1 billion to present itself some respiration room; According to reports, the corporate’s operations generate costs of roughly $100 million monthly.

While Northvolt is slipping, Lyten appears to be growing.

The San Jose-based startup plans to begin constructing a factory in Nevada next yr with a planned capability of 10 gigawatt hours. Once accomplished, the $1 billion facility will produce lithium-sulfur batteries for micro-mobility vehicles reminiscent of scooters and electric bicycles, and for defense and space applications reminiscent of drones and satellites. The company expects to come back online in 2027.

Lyten’s purchase of Northvolt’s Cuberg assets gives it equipment and space to provide as much as 200 megawatt-hours of lithium-sulfur batteries within the Bay Area. This should provide the corporate with some revenue while it prepares a bigger factory in Nevada.

According to PitchBook, Lyten has raised $476 million up to now at a $1.17 billion valuation, which incorporates a $200 million round that closed last yr.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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