R3 Robotics (formerly Circu Li-ion) has announced €20 million in funding to automate the dismantling of electric vehicle systems at scale.

Funding Details

The funding includes a €14 million Series A round, co-led by HG Ventures and Suma Capital, with participation from Oetker Collection, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), and existing shareholders such as BONVENTURE, FlixFounders, and EIT Urban Mobility, alongside €6 million in European grants.

Goals and Ambitions

This funding coincides with the rebranding from Circu Li-ion to R3 Robotics and a clear expansion of scope: from battery disassembly to automated dismantling of complete electric vehicle systems, including e-drives, power electronics, and other high-value components. The long-term ambition is to enable fully automated disassembly across entire vehicle systems.

The Challenge of Manual Dismantling

Today, manual disassembly remains labor-intensive, costly, and difficult to scale safely. R3 Robotics addresses this challenge with a dismantling platform designed for repeatable, high-throughput operation in continuous industrial environments. It combines computer vision, AI, and specialized robotic tooling to automate the disassembly of lithium-ion battery packs, e-motors, power electronics, and other high-value electrified components. The system minimizes human exposure to high-voltage hazards and delivers the cost structure and reliability required for industrial-scale operations.

European Regulatory Framework

European policy reinforces this shift. The Critical Raw Materials Act underscores the need to strengthen secure and resilient domestic supply chains for strategic materials. In parallel, the EU Battery Regulation introduces progressively stricter recycling-efficiency targets, including a 70 percent target for lithium-based batteries by 2030, alongside material recovery and recycled-content requirements. Together with the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, these frameworks are reshaping industrial recycling infrastructure.

Statements

Antoine Welter, CEO and co-founder of R3 Robotics, said: "The bottleneck isn’t recycling technology; it’s clean feedstock, meaning getting complex electrified systems safely and cost-effectively dismantled at an industrial scale."

John Glushik at HG Ventures stated: "R3 Robotics is addressing a critical industrial bottleneck in the supply of strategic raw materials."

Natalia Ruiz, Partner at Suma Capital, said: "R3 Robotics combines strong industrial execution with a scalable approach to dismantling complex electrified systems."