Interview with cylib

Turning research on battery recycling into an IP-protected technology for a circular battery economy

With their innovative, holistic battery recycling process, the RWTH spin-off cylib hits a nerve. With rapidly depleting resources and the increasing demand for sustainable alternatives, the transfer of the underlying research into an application-oriented, problem-solving start-up comes at just the right time.

The technology was developed by Lilian Schwich and Paul Sabarny during their research at the Institute of Metallurgical Process Engineering and Metal Recycling (IME). Together with Dr. Gideon Schwich, who brought in industrial engineering and business management skills, they founded cylib in July 2022. Since then, the team has not only won the RWTH Spin-off Award but also closed a €3.6 million seed round.

Lilian Schwich and Paul Sabarny sat down for an interview with the Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW initiative to talk about the different chapters of their journey, including the IP transfer together with our Innovation Management, their participation in our RWTH Ideation Program and community events like the Fempreneurs Event, the support from our mentor network and especially their mentor Maximilian Odendahl, as well as an outlook on their plans within our RWTH Incubation Program.