Limburg-based climate tech startup Back to Battery secures investment from Graduate Entrepreneur 

Limburg, the Netherlands-based Back to Battery, a climate tech startup focused on recycling used lithium-ion batteries, has secured investment from Graduate Entrepreneur.

Dutch-based Graduate Entrepreneur aims to stimulate the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rotterdam and Delft.

Graduate Entrepreneur is an initiative of a group of influential and merited alumni of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus MC, and the Delft University of Technology.

“At Graduate Entrepreneur, we believe in the power of innovation to solve critical challenges. We are proud to support Back to Battery in their mission to contribute to a more sustainable future for the battery industry and strengthen the circular economy,” says Graduate Entrepreneur.

What does Back to Battery solve?

As demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy increases, so does the need for battery materials.

By 2040, there will be a significant requirement for more lithium, nickel, and cobalt—up to 14 times more lithium, 20 times more nickel, and 5 times more cobalt each year.

Current recycling methods, particularly pyrometallurgy (burning batteries), are inefficient and environmentally harmful.

In addition to these inefficiencies, new EU regulations create additional urgency.

From 2025, black mass (the waste material from shredded batteries) can no longer be exported outside of Europe, requiring local solutions for recycling and securing a stable supply of materials within the EU.

Here’s where Back to Battery comes into play!

Back to Battery: Recovering critical raw materials from Li-ion batteries

Founded by Steven Lans, Cyril Mambote, and Pieter ter Kuile, Back to Battery offers a solution to these issues through their proprietary hydrometallurgical process.

This method allows them to recover over 95 per cent of critical materials from black mass, turning waste into valuable resources.

What distinguishes BtB from other methods is the use of regenerative chemicals that significantly reduce waste and energy consumption.

The proof of concept of the technology has been demonstrated in a project at TU Delft, where the process achieved over 99.5 per cent purity in the recovered materials.

Back to Battery is in the process of establishing a bench-scale plant to further refine and validate its technology.

The company plans to scale up to a full-scale facility by 2027, with rapid expansion across Europe and beyond.