DeepTech startup tozero has signed a lease at the GENDORF Chemical Park to build a commercial demonstration plant for lithium-ion battery recycling. This facility, expected to begin operation later this year, will lay the technological groundwork for full-scale production scheduled in 2026. The process targets efficient recovery of high-purity lithium and graphite from black mass feedstock, surpassing conventional recycling methods that often recover only base metals while losing critical raw materials.
Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, CTO of tozero, explains: “With our technology, we return valuable and energy-intensive materials like lithium and graphite back into the economic cycle. In doing so, we help make Germany and Europe less dependent on raw material imports. We already have many potential buyers for the recycled materials. The commercial demonstration plant at the chemical park is therefore a milestone for us and an important interim step in scaling our technology. The GENDORF Chemical Park, with its ‘plug-and-play’ infrastructure, is the ideal location for us. Here, we can fully concentrate on further developing our technology while InfraServ Gendorf supports us with everything else.”
“Once again, a technological pioneer in the circular economy has chosen the GENDORF Chemical Park”, says Dr. Christoph von Reden, Managing Director of InfraServ Gendorf, the operator of the chemical park. It was only in February that the startup PRUVIA announced the construction of a commercial plant for chemical plastic recycling at the site. “tozero strengthens our position as a pioneering location for young, fast-growing companies from future-focused industries,” von Reden continues. “Our infrastructure and our tailored industrial services for the chemical and process industries provide ideal conditions for companies aiming to scale. We use these advantages strategically to attract more innovation drivers to Gendorf.”
Founded in 2022, tozero has already delivered initial batches of high-purity lithium to European customers and employs about 30 staff from ten nations at its Munich site. Initial investments for the Gendorf plant are projected in the mid-single-digit million euro range, with co-financing from the EU’s EIC Accelerator Program.
The GENDORF Chemical Park, located in Upper Bavaria’s Bavarian Chemical Triangle, spans 197 hectares, hosts more than 30 companies, and employs approximately 3,700 people. InfraServ Gendorf provides shared infrastructure for chemical and process industries, with 50 hectares available for new developments.
Source: Tozero Solutions
