ToZero

tozero GmbH is a Munich, Germany-based lithium-ion battery recycling company that recovers critical raw materials — primarily lithium and graphite — from battery waste and returns them to industrial supply chains. The company processes black mass, the byproduct of mechanical lithium-ion battery recycling, using a water-based carbonation hydrometallurgical process that avoids high-temperature smelting and harsh acids. Its process is feedstock-agnostic, allowing mixed waste streams from different lithium-ion battery chemistries, and the company states emissions roughly 70% lower than conventional lithium mining.

The company opened a pilot facility in the Munich area in 2023 and shipped its first commercial delivery of recycled lithium in April 2024. Its website reports an 80% recovery rate for both lithium and graphite at industrial scale, 1,500 tonnes of annual battery waste recycling capacity online, and technology scaled roughly 20,000x from lab to industrial scale in three years. A first-of-a-kind (FOAK) commercial demonstration plant is under construction in Gendorf, and the company has said it targets processing of 30,000 tonnes of battery waste annually from 2026 onwards. tozero is classified in the 21-50 employee band and operates on a hybrid basis from Munich.

Founding story

tozero was founded in 2022 by CEO Sarah Fleischer, a serial entrepreneur and mechanical engineer, and CTO Dr. Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, a metallurgy specialist. The two met while working in the space sector — Fleischer launched the early-stage VC Orbital Ventures and a startup incubator at ESRIC while at the Luxembourg Space Agency, and Milicevic Neumann worked at Maana Electric on technologies for solar panel production on the moon and Mars. They reunited three years later to apply Milicevic Neumann's RWTH Aachen research to Europe's battery waste and critical materials problem.

Business model

tozero operates recycling plants itself, taking in lithium-ion battery waste (black mass) from suppliers across more than 10 countries and selling recovered high-purity lithium and graphite to industrial customers. Management describes the approach as asset-light and low-cost relative to competitors, and says it prefers to operate plants directly rather than license its process, while remaining open to partnerships.

Sale of recovered critical raw materials — high-purity recycled lithium and graphite — to industrial end users, including customers in the ceramics and construction sectors; the company has described off-take interest worth over a billion in value.

Traction

Pilot plant processing nine tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste per day; 1,500 tonnes per year of recycling capacity reported online; 80% recovery rate for lithium and graphite at industrial scale; first commercial delivery of recycled lithium in April 2024, nine months after the pilot facility opened; battery waste suppliers in more than 10 countries; stated target of 30,000 tonnes of battery waste processed annually from 2026.

Latest developments

In July 2025 tozero announced construction of its commercial demonstration plant in Gendorf and a partnership with JGC Japan to scale its lithium recycling technology in Japan. In March 2026 it announced the launch of production of lithium and other critical raw materials.