Tozero was founded in July 2022 by Sarah Fleischer and Ksenija Milicevic Neumann. Just two months after its founding, the startup has already completed its first investment round. Led by Atlantic Labs, investors Verve Ventures and Possible Ventures invested a total of €3.5 million in the startup. Business angels such as Jonas Rieke, co-founder and COO of Personio, and Maximilian Wühr, CEO and co-founder of Finn, as well as former VW board member Jochem Heizmann, also participated in the round.
Tozero opened its pilot plant for battery recycling on its first anniversary in July, which the startup announced is now fully operational. It uses the company's proprietary hydrometallurgical recycling technology to sustainably recover all key materials from lithium-ion batteries. These include lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. By returning these materials to the local battery supply chain, Tozero closes the battery cycle in Europe. The pilot plant in Karlsfeld, just outside Munich, is already capable of achieving the minimum recovery rate of 80 percent for lithium required by the EU for 2031, according to the startup.
“Tozero is a startup with a great idea”
Sarah Fleischer, CEO and co-founder, says:
"Together with our customers, suppliers, and investors, Tozero is at the forefront of the electrification revolution in Europe. The newly opened pilot plant is an important milestone in our mission to bring lithium-ion battery waste truly to Tozero."
The Bavarian state parliament member Stephanie Schuhknecht (The Greens) participated as a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the facility and stated:
"Renewable energies are the answer to the energy transition, and recycling is a key response to the scarcity of resources such as minerals and rare materials. They (Tozero, ed.) strengthen the economy's supply of raw materials and help Germany play a pioneering role in the circular economy in Europe."
And Frederik Zohm, CTO of MAN, added:
"Tozero is a startup with a great idea. We all know that we need high recycling rates in the battery process in Europe. For example, the Battery Regulation requires a high recycling rate from everyone who puts batteries into operation. With this pilot plant, Tozero will really make a difference."
