Circu Li-ion becomes R3 Robotics and raises €20m
Luxembourg start-up Circu Li-ion changes its name to become R3 Robotics and announces a €20m round of funding to industrialise the automated dismantling of electric vehicles. The aim: to capture the critical materials at the heart of European industrial sovereignty.
The change is strategic and accepted. Circu Li-ion, a Luxembourg-based start-up specialising in the upcycling of lithium-ion batteries, has become R3 Robotics. The name change reflects the company’s growing ambitions: to go beyond battery packs and automate the complete dismantling of key components in electric vehicles.
At the same time, the company is announcing that it has raised €20m, including €14m in Series A funding and €6m in European subsidies. The round is co-led by HG Ventures and Suma Capital, with participation from the European Innovation Council Fund, as well as existing investors such as BonVenture, FlixFounders and EIT Urban Mobility.
R3 Robotics’ trajectory is set against a backdrop of growing tension around critical raw materials. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earths: these components are essential for batteries, electric motors and power electronics systems that are shaping the energy transition. Yet Europe is still massively dependent on imports for these strategic resources.
As technology has matured, the number of products that can be dismantled in an environmentally sustainable way has expanded.
Antoine Welter, CEO and co-founder, R3 Robotics
Recent geopolitical shocks have served as a reminder of the fragility of these supply chains, prompting Brussels to speed up the introduction of a more offensive regulatory framework. The Critical Raw Materials Act aims to secure European access to critical minerals, while the EU Battery Regulation imposes a target of 70% recycling of lithium-ion batteries by 2030, along with requirements for the recovery and integration of recycled materials.
This is the equation in which R3 Robotics intends to position itself. “We started with batteries because the unit economics were clear,” co-founder and CEO Antoine Welter tells Sifted. “As the technology has matured, the number of products that can be disassembled in an environmentally sustainable way has expanded, and we want to keep up with that.”
From battery to complete vehicle
The company’s new identity reflects this expanded scope. Where Circu Li-ion focused on the treatment and recovery of end-of-life batteries, R3 Robotics now aims to automate the dismantling of battery packs, electric motors, power electronics and other high-value components.
At the heart of the model, a platform combining computer vision, artificial intelligence and industrial robotics. Around 85% of the equipment used is bought off the shelf and then adapted using end effectors designed in-house. The differentiation lies mainly in the software layer developed by the team.
Illustrates Antoine Welter,
It’s a bit like asking ChatGPT to take an object apart step by step,
“The system does what a human would do if they had to take something apart.” The algorithm analyses the structure of the product, plans the dismantling sequences and pilots the robots to extract the recoverable components cleanly.
The company currently operates an industrial site in Karlsruhe, Germany, capable of processing around 1,500 tonnes of batteries a year. This site, presented as a certified reference facility on an industrial scale, serves as a technological and operational showcase. In Luxembourg, R3 Robotics maintains an R&D centre and a pilot installation.
A decentralised model to preserve profitability
Beyond the technology, the business model is based on a pragmatic industrial logic. R3 Robotics charges for dismantling services, resells repaired components and also offers its technology in the form of robots-as-a-service. In the latter case, manufacturers install the systems on their own sites and pay a subscription fee, while retaining ownership of the materials recovered.
The product must be processed as close as possible to its point of collection.
Antoine Welter, CEO and co-founder, R3 Robotics
This approach addresses a major economic constraint: transporting batteries or end-of-life vehicles weighs heavily on profitability and carbon footprint. “The unit economy works best when logistics are kept to a minimum,” emphasises Antoine Welter. “You have to process the product as close as possible to its collection point. The company therefore has no plans to open a multitude of sites of its own, but prefers to deploy as close as possible to industrial players.
The funds raised are intended to increase capacity at the Karlsruhe site, strengthen the teams—particularly in engineering, artificial intelligence, software and operations—and accelerate the sales strategy. France and Germany are among the priority markets. Expansion into the United States is also envisaged from this year.
In the medium term, the rise in volumes of batteries and end-of-life electric vehicles should mechanically increase the available source. The ability to dismantle, sort and reinject these materials into European production lines could become a decisive factor in competitiveness.
For Luxembourg, the operation is also a signal. In an ecosystem that is seeking to position itself in deeptech, robotics and the circular economy, R3 Robotics embodies an attempt to combine technological innovation with a continental strategic challenge. All that remains now is to transform the technological lead into a sustainable industrial advantage, in a sector where the speed of execution will be as decisive as the sophistication of the algorithms.
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Circu Li-ion becomes R3 Robotics and raises €20m, source
