EUVC E709 | Dr Lilian Schwich, cylib on Europe’s Battery Recycling Gap
Europe’s climate transition is no longer only about emissions.
It is increasingly about sovereignty: control over industrial capacity, critical materials, and resilient supply chains.
In this episode of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner at The Table and our very own Andreas Munk Holm, are joined by Dr Lilian Schwich, Co-Founder & Co-CEO cylib, a company building one of Europe’s most advanced lithium-ion battery recycling platforms.
Together they unpack one of the least understood gaps in Europe’s battery value chain: refining metallurgy — the step that converts battery scrap into high-purity critical raw materials that gigafactories can actually use.
Dr. Schwich explains why Europe still lags Asia in the battery ecosystem, what it takes to scale an industrial climate company, and why recycling is becoming a foundational capability for Europe’s industrial future.
In this episode
• Why refining metallurgy is Europe’s missing battery capability• How cylib is closing the loop in the battery value chain• Why battery recycling is a sovereignty issue• How to finance industrial climate companies• What makes corporate partnerships actually work