Estonian DeepTech startup Jälle Technologies raises €2 million to combat the “tidal wave of dead batteries”

Tallinn-based Jälle Technologies has secured a €2 million pre-Seed round 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.

The round combines competitive grant support from Enterprise Estonia (EIS) and the Environmental Investment Centre (KIK) with early-stage equity investment from Nordic and Baltic impact-driven VC firms including Kiilto Ventures, 2C Ventures, as well as participation from angel investors Andrus Purde and Priit Viru.

Erki Ani, CEO of Jälle Technologies said: “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 end of 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.”

Founded in 2023, Jälle Technologies is a DeepTech company on a mission to recover critical raw materials from end-of-life batteries. By delivering efficient and sustainable recycling solutions for Li-ion batteries, Jälle aims to support Europe’s transition to a low-carbon, resource-secure, and truly circular economy.

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 advanced materials research at Estonia’s National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics.

Hendrik Reimand, Founding Partner at 2C Ventures spoke on Jälle’s Founder-led approach: “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.”

With Europe aiming for 70% 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.

Kerli Liivand, CTO of Jälle Technologies and an experienced scientist in battery and materials recovery, emphasised the need for practical solutions that can scale: “Recovering critical materials at scale is a real challenge. Our focus is on making sure what we build isn’t just great science but something the industry can rely on. Producing graphene-like materials could improve everything from composites to construction, making materials stronger, lighter, more conductive, and more efficient.”

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 – amidst 2D materials – are among the world’s thinnest known materials, celebrated for their high strength, conductivity, and flexibility, making these upcycled materials valuable for advanced applications.

Matti Rönkkö, Managing Partner at Kiilto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Finnish chemical innovator Kiilto, 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.”

The new funding will be used to expand pilot-scale production, validate Jälle’s proprietary processes at scale, and grow the company’s team in Estonia with hiring already ongoing.

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