Aachen-based recycling firm cylib is participating in a 25-partner German consortium to develop Europe’s first industrial recycling process for sodium-ion batteries. The project, known as SIB:DE Entwicklung, runs from March 2026 through February 2029 and is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space with total funding of €14.5 million. Its goal is to establish circular value chains for next-generation batteries by producing large-format, market-ready sodium-ion cells and testing their recyclability before end-of-life volumes reach industrial scale.
cylib leads the consortium’s recycling efforts alongside the Technical University of Braunschweig. On cylib’s team, Head of R&D Till Gerlach and Project Lead Lisa Pillar are overseeing two parallel recycling routes. The first follows conventional mechanical and hydrometallurgical processes, while the second focuses on direct recycling, which returns active materials directly to cell production without full chemical breakdown. A pilot-scale demonstration of the direct recycling method is targeted for early 2029. This approach is expected to lower processing costs and preserve material quality, particularly when handling production scrap.
“This consortium brings together the entire value chain, from cell manufacturers and automotive partners to our recycling expertise,” said Dr. Lilian Schwich, Co-CEO of cylib. “We’re designing circularity into sodium-ion technology from the outset rather than waiting for end-of-life volumes to accumulate.”
The consortium includes battery producers, electrolyte developers, machinery manufacturers, intralogistics providers, and recycling system specialists. Key industry partners such as EDAG, VARTA, and UniverCell are joined by eight Fraunhofer Institutes, leading universities—including RWTH Aachen University, the Technical University of Munich, the Technical University of Braunschweig, and KIT—and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The project is coordinated by EDAG Production Solutions.
cylib has previously applied the same principle to lithium-ion batteries, securing over €140 million in equity and grants to prepare its first industrial recycling facility at CHEMPARK Dormagen. That plant, when operational, will process up to 60,000 metric tons of battery material per year, equivalent to roughly 140,000 electric vehicle batteries. The company’s water-based OLiC technology already achieves more than 90 percent recovery of critical raw materials while reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent compared to primary extraction.
Source: cylib
