Estonian deeptech startup Jälle Technologies has secured €2 million Pre-Seed funding to advance its mission of recovering value from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and converting typically discarded graphite waste into high-value, next-generation carbon-based materials.
With Europe aiming for 70 per cent recycling efficiency for lithium-ion batteries, and end-of-life battery volumes projected to surpass 230 kilotonnes by 2030, a 70-fold increase over 2020, today’s recycling technologies need major advancements to meet supply chain demands.
Jälle offers a science-driven solution to this challenge. Founded by scientists determined to solve the battery industry’s waste problem at scale, including Kerli Liivand, Martin Jantson, Reio Praats, Erki Ani, and Ivar Kruusenberg, the company grew out of years of advanced materials research at Estonia’s National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics.
Beyond tackling the battery recycling efficiency challenge and achieving high recovery rates for lithium, the company’s core lies in upcycling typically discarded waste graphite into high-value graphene-like materials.
Few-layer graphene-based materials, among the world’s thinnest known materials, are celebrated for their high strength, conductivity, and flexibility, making these upcycled materials valuable for advanced applications.
The pre-seed investment round combines competitive grant support from Enterprise Estonia (EIS) and the Environmental Investment Centre (KIK) with early-stage equity investment from Kiilto Ventures, 2C Ventures, as well as participation from angel investors Andrus Purde and Priit Viru.
According to Erki Ani, CEO of Jälle Technologies, while the whole world is geared towards electrification, energy storage needs are inevitably on the rise.
“What happens with these batteries once they’ve reached the end of their life? With Jälle, we are looking a few steps ahead of the curve to be ready for the “tidal wave of dead batteries.
By achieving very high battery recycling efficiencies and enabling advanced applications through our graphene-like materials, we contribute to addressing Europe’s critical raw materials challenge.
We’re extremely glad that we have such investors who share our vision. It’s not just about funding, it’s about working together to take our technology from the lab to industry.”
Matti Rönkkö, Managing Partner at Kiilto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Finnish chemical innovator Kiilto which is known for supporting sustainability and circular economy solutions, underscored the appeal of Jälle’s scalable technology:
“Jälle Technologies’ vision to turn battery waste into valuable resources through cutting-edge recycling is exactly the kind of scalable, sustainability-driven innovation we want to champion.”
Hendrik Reimand, Founding Partner at 2C Ventures, shared:
“Battery recycling is no longer optional. Jälle’s team combines deep technical expertise with a clear commercialisation strategy, making them exactly the type of founder-led, high-impact company that we strive to support from our fund.”
The new funding will be used to expand pilot-scale production, validate Jälle’s proprietary processes at scale, and grow the company’s world-class team in Estonia, with hiring already ongoing.
Lead image: Jälle Technologies- Photo: uncredited.
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