Circu Li-ion’s co-founder and CEO, Antoine Welter, stated that their startup’s upgraded reconditioning machines can diagnose a battery’s condition within seconds. “We can clearly identify which batteries can be reused and which cannot.”
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Circu Li-ion’s business involves rescuing usable battery cells from shredders. The Luxembourg-based startup’s machines use artificial intelligence and an expanding “battery library” to visually identify batteries; separate batteries from other materials like plastic casings and PVC boards; and determine the health status of the batteries.
Good condition batteries can be used for mobile applications. Batteries in average condition might be used for storing renewable energy. Disqualified batteries are sent to recycling centers. Recycling companies typically cut batteries into black chunks and recover valuable metals through smelting or leaching. In this process, a significant amount of battery components get mixed together, resulting in losses.
Circu Li-ion’s machines separate battery cells from plastic casings and other materials (such as PVC boards). Image Source: Circu Li-ion
Welter said, “We can take away a lot of valuable materials that don’t need to go into the shredder.” Circu Li-ion claims, “In discarded batteries, over eight out of ten batteries are actually not truly discarded.”
When asked about how the machine precisely determines the health condition of the batteries, Welter seemed reluctant to respond.
Welter said, “We collect over 25 data points for each battery through Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) testing. Based on these data points, we can determine the battery’s health within a 1.2% margin of error.” The CEO explained that testing old batteries is somewhat akin to interpreting tree rings. It’s possible to identify different patterns to understand the battery’s health condition.
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Circu Li-ion’s machine features a massive orange mechanical arm. Image Source: Circu Li-ion
Circu Li-ion charges manufacturers and recyclers for the use of its machines and software. Additionally, Circu Li-ion operates a battery disassembly plant in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Earlier this month, Circu Li-ion secured approximately $4.8 million (€4.5 million) in equity financing led by BonVenture. Prior to this, the company had received around $4.2 million (€4 million) in funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator.
The startup mentioned that a total of approximately $9 million in seed funding will assist in scaling up its Machine-as-a-Service business model. Circu Li-ion also stated its intention to establish the “world’s largest” battery recycling data repository.
