Lyon-based MECAWARE, a deep tech startup that enables the sustainable supply of strategic raw metals for the battery sector by the eco2-efficient recycling of metals, has raised €40M to speed up its industrial and commercial development.
The investment comes from a combination of investors and support from the French government under the France 2030 plan, along with contributions from banking partners.
Capital utilisation
MECAWARE says it will use the funds to industrialise its pilot scheme for recycling battery production scrap, known as the Gigafactories Scrap – ScrapCO2MET project.
This initiative is set to be operational by 2025 and aims to produce 50 tonnes of recycled metal per year, focusing on metals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese.
MECAWARE is also investing in infrastructure to support this development, including the establishment of a new Technical Centre on the outskirts of Lyon. This facility spans 1,600m² and includes offices, an R&D laboratory, and a factory building.
What does MECAWARE offer?
MECAWARE is a company focused on recycling end-of-life batteries and production scrap from battery-making factories. Its technology, based on dynamic combinatorial chemistry, synergises CO2 capture with recycling critical metals.
The process operates in a closed loop, producing no effluent and requiring no special energy inputs. MECAWARE holds four patents and received recognition from esteemed organisations like the American Chemical Society and Nature Chemistry journal in 2020.
The company’s eco²-efficiency is adaptable to different feedstocks and evolving battery technologies, promising both economic and ecological value.
“MECAWARE is thus deploying a ground-breaking and scalable industrial solution as part of a circular economy approach,” says, Arnaud Villers d’Arbouet, co-founder and CEO of MECAWARE.
“It makes it possible to secure supplies of raw materials, enabling the strategic independence of our territories to bolster the energy transition, all in compliance with EU Regulations. Our technological solution addresses the current problems caused by traditional processes.”
Funds to meet industrial development challenges
MECAWARE recently conducted a fundraising operation with a group of investors, organised by Crédit Mutuel Innovation and the SPI2 fund managed by Bpifrance, as part of the France 2030 initiative.
Several long-standing investment partners, including EIT InnoEnergy, UI Investissement, Kreaxi, BNP Paribas Développement, and Crédit Agricole Création, reinforced their positions by supporting this initiative.
This funding initiative builds upon State subsidies obtained earlier in the year under the France 2030 Plan (ADEME, RRR) for the ScrapCO2MET project, in collaboration with companies VERKOR and MTB.
Additionally, MECAWARE is set to receive additional support from banks such as BNP Paribas, CIC, CERA, and Bpifrance.
The recently secured funding will facilitate the development of MECAWARE’s operational governance in commercial activities and the structuring of their teams.
This expansion plan includes doubling the workforce from 40 people by the end of 2023 to 80 employees in 2024.
Magali Joessel, Director of the SPI Fund says, “The development of electrical mobility goes hand in hand with key issues regarding the procurement of raw materials in terms of both sovereignty and the environment. We are convinced that Mecaware’s technology, which seeks to recycle and recover blackmass from end-of-life batteries or production scrap constitutes a valid response to these challenges.”
“The metal extraction process they have created is an innovative solution that fits into the development of the French battery sector. Preparing the industrialisation of Mecaware and supporting its shift in scale chime perfectly with the raison d’être of the SPI Fund,” adds Joessel.
Benefiting the circular economy and energy transition
MECAWARE’s “groundbreaking” chemical process, the only one of its kind globally, originated from French public research led by Professor Julien Leclaire at the Applied Supramolecular Chemistry Laboratory in Lyon.
After initial development by SATT Sud-Est, significant investment and support from PULSALYS helped optimise the technology, resulting in the creation of three patents, two of which are jointly owned with prominent French universities.
With backing from SATT PULSALYS, MECAWARE was founded in 2020, and under the leadership of CEO Arnaud Villers d’Arbouet, the company has emerged as a pioneering startup in the field.
