TREEE SRL

Their core work

TREEE SRL is an Italian SME specializing in the recycling and recovery of valuable materials from end-of-life products, including electronics (WEEE), vehicles (ELV), and construction waste (CDW). They work on industrial processes for extracting critical raw materials — from rare-earth elements and cobalt to precious metals and platinum-group metals — using techniques like hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, bioleaching, and thermolysis. Their practical focus is on making secondary raw material recovery commercially viable while safely handling hazardous substances like flame retardants in waste streams.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2018), TREEE focused on critical raw materials recovery — rare-earth elements, magnesium alloy recycling, and cobalt extraction from batteries using diverse metallurgical techniques. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward WEEE recycling, plastic waste treatment, and flame retardant removal, with a growing emphasis on making recycling processes safer and more circular. Their most recent project (PEACOC, 2021) signals a move into precious metals recovery from automotive and electronics waste, combining their metallurgical roots with their newer waste-stream expertise.

TREEE is converging toward full-cycle recovery from complex waste streams — expect them to pursue projects combining hazardous substance removal with high-value metal extraction from electronics and automotive waste.

How they like to work

TREEE operates exclusively as a consortium partner or third party — they have never coordinated a project, which is typical for a specialized SME contributing specific technical capabilities to larger teams. With 85 unique partners across 18 countries, they are well-networked and comfortable working in large European consortia. Their consistent participant role across Innovation Actions (3 projects) suggests they bring practical, close-to-market recycling expertise rather than leading research agendas.

TREEE has built a broad European network of 85 partners across 18 countries through 6 projects, indicating they are well-connected in the circular economy and waste recycling research community. Their network spans the full value chain from research institutions to industrial recyclers.

What sets them apart

TREEE combines hands-on recycling operations with participation in advanced R&D, bridging the gap between laboratory metallurgy and industrial waste processing. Their dual expertise in both hazardous substance management (flame retardants) and high-value material recovery (rare earths, cobalt, PGMs) is uncommon — most recyclers specialize in one or the other. For consortium builders, they offer a practical Italian SME perspective on whether a recycling technology can actually work at commercial scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CROCODILE
  Largest single grant (EUR 353,500) — a first-of-its-kind commercial system for cobalt recovery from batteries, directly addressing EU critical raw materials strategy.
• PEACOC
  Most recent project (2021-2026) targeting precious metals recovery from automotive catalysts and photovoltaic panels — signals their future direction in high-value recycling.
• CREAToR
  Combines flame retardant removal with advanced purification technologies (supercritical CO2, twin-screw extruders), showing their capability in process-level innovation for safer recycling.