ECO RECYCLING SOCIETA A RESPONSABILITA LIMITATA

Their core work

Eco Recycling is an Italian SME specializing in the recovery and recycling of critical raw materials, particularly from industrial waste streams and end-of-life products like batteries. They bring practical recycling process expertise — spanning hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, bioleaching, and electrochemistry — to EU innovation projects that aim to close material loops in European supply chains. Their work also extends into advanced materials for energy applications, including membrane technologies for CO2 capture and kesterite-based thin-film photovoltaics.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 participation (2018), Eco Recycling worked across sustainable mining, secondary materials recovery, and advanced membrane materials for CO2 capture — a broad spread across recycling and materials science. By 2020, their focus sharpened toward two concrete applications: battery recycling with multiple metallurgical techniques (CROCODILE) and earth-abundant thin-film photovoltaics (CUSTOM-ART). The trajectory shows a company moving from general recycling and materials R&D toward the high-demand intersection of circular economy and clean energy materials.

Moving firmly toward circular economy for energy-critical materials — battery metals recovery and earth-abundant photovoltaic elements — positioning them at the center of EU strategic autonomy priorities.

How they like to work

Eco Recycling operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as a coordinator, which is typical for a specialist SME contributing specific technical capabilities rather than managing large projects. With 69 unique partners across 17 countries from just 4 projects, they work in large Innovation Action consortia and bring their recycling expertise into diverse, multi-partner teams. This breadth of partnerships suggests they are well-connected and adaptable, comfortable working with both academic and industrial partners across Europe.

Despite only 4 projects, they have built a remarkably wide network of 69 partners across 17 countries, indicating participation in large consortia with strong European reach. Their Rome base and Italian identity place them well for Southern European connections, but their partner spread is clearly pan-European.

What sets them apart

Eco Recycling combines hands-on recycling process expertise with advanced materials knowledge — a rare combination among SMEs. While many recyclers focus on a single metallurgical route, this company works across bioleaching, solvometallurgy, ionometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and electrochemistry, making them a versatile partner for any project needing multi-pathway materials recovery. Their CROCODILE project funding (EUR 1.2M) demonstrates that large consortia trust them with substantial technical workpackages, not just token SME participation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CROCODILE
  Their largest project by far (EUR 1.2M, 67% of total funding), focused on first-of-a-kind commercial cobalt recovery from batteries — directly aligned with EU critical raw materials strategy.
• CUSTOM-ART
  Represents their expansion into clean energy materials, working on disruptive kesterite-based thin-film PV technologies for building integration — a strategic diversification from pure recycling.