DREV, a Swedish startup pioneering contamination management for the battery trade, introduced the closing of its €2.8 million Seed spherical in an effort to develop its engineering and product improvement capabilities to speed up supply of the Vault product line.

The spherical was co-led by Butterfly Ventures and Almi Make investments GreenTech, with help from S-E-Bankens Utvecklingsstiftelse and U.S.-based Battle Born Enterprise (Nevada’s state-backed enterprise fund that’s within the strategy of becoming a member of the spherical).

“This spherical marks a defining second for DREV. It’s a testomony to the onerous work and keenness of our group, and to the invaluable steerage of our board and advisors who’ve supported us each step of the best way.Collectively, we’re constructing the inspiration for a safer, round battery trade,” stated Arelys Sosa, CEO and co-founder, DREV.

DREV’s Seed spherical comes amid a sequence of 2025 European investments focusing on totally different factors of the battery worth chain.

In Estonia, Jälle Applied sciences secured €2 million to get well supplies from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and repurpose graphite waste, whereas fellow Estonian agency UP Catalyst raised €18 million to scale manufacturing of battery-grade carbon from industrial CO₂. In Germany, Voltfang attracted €15 million to open Europe’s largest second-life battery manufacturing unit, whereas Dutch firm Dexter Power raised €23 million to develop its AI-based optimisation platform for renewable and battery operations.

In contrast to these corporations, which focus totally on recycling, supplies manufacturing, or vitality optimisation, DREV addresses contamination management throughout battery manufacturing – a comparatively ignored but crucial phase of the round battery ecosystem.

By tackling hazardous “black mud” and enabling restoration of useful metals straight on the manufacturing unit flooring, the corporate strengthens hyperlinks between raw-material restoration and sustainable manufacturing.

Its work aligns carefully with the tightening sustainability calls for underneath the EU Battery Regulation and Crucial Uncooked Supplies Act, situating the corporate on the intersection of employee security, circularity, and industrial effectivity inside Europe’s quickly scaling gigafactory community.

“At Butterfly Ventures, we glance to put money into the most effective of the most effective, modern corporations that may change our world positively as we speak and for our kids’s future. We stay within the age of Gigafactories and different mass-produced merchandise that regularly produce ‘black mud’, but in addition recoverable assets.

“The group at DREV is tremendous skilled inside this sector and we’re so tremendous joyful to help them alongside this journey and past,” added Tanya Horowitz, Companion, Butterfly Ventures.

DREV supplies superior contamination management know-how for demanding manufacturing environments. Its patented Vault methods claims to allow safer workplaces, improved operational effectivity, and restoration of useful supplies, supporting a round battery worth chain. Based in 2023 and primarily based in Gothenburg, DREV has acquired help from Vinnova, Enterprise Sweden, Energimyndigheten, and EIT Manufacturing and have validated their core know-how at a world-leading gigafactory.

Behind this innovation are co-founders Arelys Sosa and Thomas Tingelöf, who collectively convey a long time of expertise in scaling advanced manufacturing and industrial applied sciences.

• Sosa led engineering and operations initiatives at Panasonic Power Company of North America, the place she oversaw the commissioning of the primary 10 manufacturing strains and performed a key position in constructing Tesla’s Gigafactory 1.
• Tingelöf, who holds a PhD in electrochemistry, served as CTO at PowerCell Sweden, the place he led the event next-generation fuel-cell energy conversion methods from idea to commercialisation.

Battery manufacturing, recycling, and refining processes generate microscopic steel particles – often called “black mud” – that, if left uncontrolled, pose dangers to employee well being, compromise operational security, and trigger pricey downtime, whereas additionally resulting in the lack of useful crucial metals.

DREV’s patented Vault system seems to be to handle this problem. Examined at a world-leading gigafactory, the Vault has reportedly demonstrated measurable enhancements in air high quality, decreased floor slipperiness, and recovered assets that might in any other case be misplaced.

With a whole lot of gigafactories and recycling services underneath improvement worldwide to fulfill the demand for clear vitality, the battery trade is positioned for speedy enlargement within the coming years.

On the identical time, rules such because the EU Battery Regulation and the Crucial Uncooked Supplies Act are elevating the bar for sustainability and circularity.

By capturing hazardous but useful black mud straight on the supply, Vault enhances security, reduces waste, and boosts operational effectivity. What was as soon as thought of a byproduct turns into a brand new supply of worth – serving to producers get well crucial metals, keep forward of evolving rules, and function extra sustainably and profitably.

“At Almi Make investments GreenTech, we search for applied sciences that clear up actual industrial issues whereas driving systemic environmental advantages. DREV turns a hidden security and waste challenge right into a round benefit – enabling gigafactories to get well crucial supplies, save water, shield staff, and adjust to the subsequent step in sustainability requirements. That is precisely the type of industrial affect we need to speed up at scale,” stated Jonas Bergqvist, Funding Supervisor, Almi Make investments GreenTech.

This new funding will allow DREV to speed up the event, develop the industrial deployment, and set up Swedish manufacturing operations for its Vault Cell and Stationary options – designed to guard employee well being and security, enhance manufacturing effectivity, and get well crucial metals comparable to nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper.

The corporate may also set up manufacturing operations in Gothenburg for in-house manufacturing, whereas deploying its know-how in gigafactories and recycling services throughout Europe and North America, in addition to increasing its industrial operations in Nevada.

“This funding supplies the assets we have to push the bounds of our engineering roadmap. It’s going to permit us to speed up product improvement, scale our pre-series take a look at fleets and refine the core applied sciences behind the Vault product vary, in the end lowering our time to market and making certain the best requirements of reliability and efficiency,” shared Thomas Tingelöf, CTO/COO and co-founder, DREV.