Authors: Olamilekan Olugbayila, Maarten Buysse, and Philipp Zeng, Innovation Consultants at Bax
As electrification surges across all sectors, the challenge of responsibly managing End-of-Life (EoL) batteries becomes increasingly vital. Circu Li-ion, a start-up from Luxembourg co-founded by Antoine Welter (CEO) and Xavier Kohll (CTO), aims to address this challenge by automating the dismantling and diagnostic process for EoL battery treatment. The focus is particularly on EV, BESS, and micromobility (e.g., e-scooters, e-bikes) batteries, to make this step cost-efficient, scalable, and safe. This article explores Circu Li-ion's operations, highlighting its automated dismantling and testing technologies, and examines the company's business model and future plans.
Automated disassembly of EV packs: Making scalable and cost-driven EoL vehicle treatment a reality
When >2kWh batteries reach EoL, they can be introduced into upcycling and recycling streams, both of which rely on disassembly. In upcycling, they are disassembled, tested, and introduced into second life applications. If the battery condition is terminal, they undergo a complex recycling procedure, where the valuable minerals inside the Cathode Active Material (Nickel, Lithium, Manganese, Cobalt) are extracted and refined via metallurgical processes.Typically, the batteries undergo a mechanical pre-processing step in which the batteries need to be safely dismantled and discharged.
Nowadays the disassembly of batteries is handled manually by certified high voltage technicians that endure high safety risk. The BDL consists of a robotic cell with flexible tooling, which help in the different steps of disassembly, e.g.unscrewing, picking-up the lid, removing modules & other components. The extracted parts are then separated into upcycling (ready for 2nd Life application) and recycling streams to be further processed.
The BDL is a unique mechatronic system that is based on proprietary software and data assets, esp. to enable computer vision, and flexible handling of deviation cases – a key requirement for handling products that have experienced years of use and various degrees of degradation.
Disassembling Micromobility packs down to cell level: Enabling 2nd Life applications for battery cells
Circu Li-ion tackles the disassembly of small packs with a capacity below 2 kWh (micromobility, power tools, etc.) with four process steps. The process begins with a pre-diagnostic stage, where the battery pack undergoes a first check and is discharged to a safe level. The second step involves using an automated dismantling system that opens the battery in a streamlined manner with a robotic arm, replacing labour-intensive manual efforts and reducing time.
The third step, a patented cell extraction process, optimises the dismantling process further by separating the cells from the busbars to singularise each cell. This phase improves the recovery rate of the EoL battery and enables diagnosis at the cell level, performed in the fourth step. The cell diagnosis involves a thorough testing phase where parameters such as State of Health (SoH) and internal impedance are measured to assess and qualify the condition of each cell. The extensive cell diagnostics enable the separation of cells into those that can be reused and those that need to be recycled.
This process, presented by Circu Li-ion, can help reduce recycling costs by up to 30% and slash cell lifetime CO2 emissions by up to 50%.
The business model
Circu Li-ion’s business model is comprised of different service levels: hardware services, software services and battery data services. Right now, the company has fully developed its hardware services and is working to bring its other offerings to the market. With these three distinct service offerings, the company aims to be present in different sectors of the battery value chain.
Circu Li-ion scales its business by providing its systems as 'Machines as a Service', where customers install the system on their premises and access both hardware and software for a monthly fee. The main customer segments for Circu Li-ion’s solution are various OEMs (EV, micromobility, power tool, forklift, etc.) seeking to extract the maximum value from their batteries and reduce their EoL footprint; upcycling customers looking to scale cost-efficiently; and battery pre-treatment recycling facilities aiming to automate the dismantling of incoming batteries to enable scalable recycling operations.
Besides providing a physical service, the company is also venturing into the software domain. In the future, they aim to offer a digital service for recyclers. The main idea is to share the team's expertise through a digital battery library, providing recyclers with a guide on how to dismantle different types of batteries and automate their machinery. This service is designed for recycling companies with established methods in place that are looking to automate their processes without undergoing a costly and time-consuming R&D phase. Through a leasing contract, they can access Circu Li-ion's library of battery dismantling data and automated solutions, making their operations more cost-effective and reducing initial expenses.
Lastly, with data being collected throughout the disassembly process, theBattery Data Service is emerging as a digital platform where players along the entire battery value chain can access a wealth of data points, predictive analytics, and strategic insights to improve recycling practices and material management and enable data-driven decision-making.
As the company’s services continue to develop, its first service (battery dismantling) is ready to enter the market, giving Circu Li-ion its name. The other two services point to a future where knowledge and innovation play crucial roles in shaping a greener, more efficient battery recycling landscape.
Key challenges in the disassembly process
Circu Li-ion's path forward involves reshaping how battery disassembly works and tackling the hurdles that startups typically face. In an industry where big players are slowly embracing automation, Circu Li-ion’s challenge is to demonstrate how its dismantling solution can set new standards. With the recycling sector dominated by established players, Circu Li-ion needs to find a system that accommodates the diverse range of batteries used in power tools, micromobility, and EV models.This requires finding a balance between having a standard process and being adaptable enough to handle the variety of the market. They are turning this challenge into an opportunity to revolutionise battery management by creating adaptable automation solutions.
Facing typical startup hurdles, Circu Li-ion is dedicated to advancing its unique hardware solution. In a recent talk, they highlighted two major issues facing the nascent battery recycling industry: the need for significant upfront capital in large, centralised facilities and the lack of pressure from regulators and manufacturers to recycle. Circu Li-ion addresses this challenge by leveraging its specialised dismantling process in decentralised locations with low capital expenditure and by tangibly improving the business case for its customers. This has proven to attract investors to the company's promising growth path, allowing Circu Li-ion to continue its journey toward transforming the industry and promoting sustainability.
Circu Li-ion’s unique offering is a service where disassembly machinery is adaptable to various form factors, allowing for an optimised process to disassemble batteries by integrating AI algorithms. Currently, its operations can measure up to 20 points in less than five seconds per cell. The company is also developing a model to quickly classify whether cells should go upstream for reuse or downstream for recycling. Furthermore, it is building a database library of all battery packs for its software offering, enabling users to control robots for automation.
The future of Circu Li-ion
Circu Li-ion is planning to deploy its hardware solutions on a European scale in 2025 and prove the tangible value of its systems in operation at customer sites. The company follows a phased go to market strategy: Circu Li-ion operates a fully certified battery waste treatment facility in Germany where disassembly services are offered to customers at pilot scale. Demonstrating the prowess of systems during those operations, the company has signed the first commercial customers where systems are being installed at their sites in a “Machine as a service” model. Circu Li-ion plans to install dozens of such systems across Europe in the coming years and enter further regions beyond that.
In addition to disassembly systems, the company is also prepared to integrate vertically and establish partnerships to offer additional adjacent services to its customers, e.g. discharging and diagnostics, and help digitize customer operations with high quality data services and products.
To execute this plan, the company raised €8.5 million to date, consisting of €4.5 million in equity in a seed financing round led by BonVenture and complemented by €4 million in grants. A major milestone was the backing by the European Innovation Council, a highly selective grant program supporting European Deep Tech start-ups.
Circu Li-ion has demonstrated industry traction, most recently by winning the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator to run a large-scale pilot with Amazon that aims to reduce the footprint of Amazon’s electric vehicle fleet operations. Besides that, they have also developed a significant network of clients in the sector from battery manufacturers, OEMs, to recyclers and upcyclers.
This case study was elaborated as part of the BatteReverse project by Bax with input from Circu Li-ion. The article is part of the Circular Business Cases series, which analyses existing business models for Li-ion batteries.
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