UK battery recycling start-up Gigamine unveils seed round

UK lithium-ion battery recycling start-up Gigamine this week announced a seed round led by early-stage fund 7percent Ventures with participation from a group of angel investors, among whom Alejandro Agag, the founder of Extreme E and Formula E.

The company is developing technology and solutions for lithium-ion battery recycling, including automated discharge and disassembly. Plans will also involve the use of renewable energy.

It says the UK is expected to need 140 GWh of cell production by 2040 to meet its electric vehicle (EV) targets and the market opportunity for recycled materials is set to start gaining speed in 2024.

Gigamine is looking to start construction of its first “node,” its scalable recycling facility, this year. It expects to select a site for this project in the second quarter of the year. The company seeks to operate six nodes across the UK in the next five years, along with a refinery converting black mass into materials for re-use in cell production.

"Building an automated, scalable and sustainable EV battery recycling solution is a critical requirement for the circular economy and a significant global market opportunity over the coming years,” said Peter Cowan, director at Gigamine. The firm hopes to share more news about partners and customers over the next weeks.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!