cylib lands first bank loan from Sparkasse Aachen to scale battery recycling
What's the deal? German battery recycling startup cylib has secured its first bank financing, a loan from Sparkasse AachenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to support the ramp-up of its newly commissioned recycling plant in Wernberg-Köblitz, Bavaria. The amount and terms were not disclosed.
What's the endgame? cylib, founded in Aachen in 2022, recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The loan funds the ramp-up of mechanical battery processing as the company shifts from pilot operations toward industrial production.
Why now? The Wernberg-Köblitz site, acquired in July 2026, can process up to 10,000 metric tons of end-of-life EV batteries a year into "black mass," an intermediate product. That feedstock will feed a future hydrometallurgical plant at CHEMPARK Dormagen, which is still under construction.
The financing adds to cylib's existing capital stack: a €55 million Series A in 2024 and €89.5 million in public funding in 2025 for the Dormagen project.
What they're saying: "Access to bank financing supports the implementation: It helps us make the transition from pilot operations to industrial production," said co-founder and co-chief executive officer Gideon Schwich (translated from German).
What could go wrong? The undisclosed loan size makes its scale hard to judge. Execution also hinges on coordinating two sites — processing in Bavaria and recovery in North Rhine-Westphalia — while Dormagen is not yet built.
The signal: Bank loans rarely reach technology-heavy industrial startups, given high investment costs and technical risk. "The loan from Sparkasse Aachen sends an important signal," said chief financial officer Daniel Dietz (translated from German) — a marker that traditional lenders now see cylib's model as financeable as it matures.
Read more: startbase.com
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