Exclusive: Impact investors inject €3.5M into critical mineral startup – 'strengthens European resilience'

Copenhagen-based Nordic Salt Cycle has secured €3.5m to commercialise a molten-salt technology designed to extract critical minerals from old tech such as EV batteries, wind turbines, and electronics.

The round was led by EIFO, Denmark’s state-owned green-transition investment fund, with participation from existing investors The Footprint Firm and German impact fund Ananda Impact Ventures.

Axel Bjørum, senior investment associate at EIFO, said the firm was drawn to the technology’s potential to boost both sustainability and European sovereignty.

"We believe Nordic Salt Cycle’s platform can play a pivotal role in strengthening Europe’s capabilities in recycling and recovering critical minerals at lower cost and with reduced energy consumption,” Bjørum said.

Cutting dependence on China

Founded in 2024 by Stefan Vilner and James Amphlett, Nordic Salt Cycle aims to secure European supplies of lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements without relying on low-cost producers in China and the wider Asian market.

Its molten-salt process breaks down and separates minerals from discarded batteries and other components using less energy and fewer chemicals. The company says the approach is modular, low-cost, and easily scaled.

Vilner, the startup’s CEO, said the team is now focused on turning Europe’s end-of-life hardware into a viable, homegrown minerals supply.

“”Our technology platform has the potential to be a game-changer in the recovery of critical materials such as lithium and rare earth elements,” he said.

Amphlett, the company’s CTO, said the technology is already proving itself in the lab.

“Our prototype is up and running,” he said. “We’ve shown we can extract materials far more effectively than existing processes, while using very little energy. The unit economics are unique.”

Boosting supply

Critical materials recycling has long been viewed as essential to Europe’s climate and industrial strategy, yet existing technologies remain either too expensive or too energy-intensive to compete with primary extraction. But as demand for electrification grows – from EVs to grid batteries to renewable infrastructure – the gap between supply and demand continues to widen.

Phil Doolan, partner at The Footprint Firm, said the technology arrives at a crucial moment.

“The green transition depends on critical materials,” he said. “This tech unlocks end-of-life batteries as a major resource.”

Ananda Impact Ventures partner Bernd Klosterkemper said the firm views Nordic Salt Cycle as a potential industry-defining platform.

With fresh funding secured, Nordic Salt Cycle plans to expand its engineering team, deepen industry partnerships and continue refining its platform as it prepares for pilot deployments with battery-recycling and manufacturing partners.