DREV, a Swedish startup pioneering contamination management for the battery trade, introduced the closing of its €2.8 million Seed spherical with the intention to broaden its engineering and product growth capabilities to speed up supply of the Vault product line.
The spherical was co-led by Butterfly Ventures and Almi Make investments GreenTech, with assist from S-E-Bankens Utvecklingsstiftelse and U.S.-based Battle Born Enterprise (Nevada’s state-backed enterprise fund that’s within the technique of becoming a member of the spherical).
“This spherical marks a defining second for DREV. It’s a testomony to the arduous work and fervour of our crew, 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 completely different factors of the battery worth chain.
In Estonia, Jälle Technologies 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 Energy raised €23 million to broaden its AI-based optimisation platform for renewable and battery operations.
Not like these corporations, which focus totally on recycling, supplies manufacturing, or power optimisation, DREV addresses contamination management throughout battery manufacturing – a comparatively neglected but crucial section of the round battery ecosystem.
By tackling hazardous “black mud” and enabling restoration of beneficial metals immediately on the manufacturing unit ground, the corporate strengthens hyperlinks between raw-material restoration and sustainable manufacturing.
Its work aligns intently with the tightening sustainability calls for beneath the EU Battery Regulation and Important 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 one of the best of one of the best, revolutionary firms that may change our world positively immediately and for our kids’s future. We reside within the age of Gigafactories and different mass-produced merchandise that frequently produce ‘black mud’, but in addition recoverable sources.
“The crew at DREV is tremendous skilled inside this sector and we’re so tremendous completely happy to assist them alongside this journey and past,” added Tanya Horowitz, Companion, Butterfly Ventures.
DREV offers superior contamination management know-how for demanding manufacturing environments. Its patented Vault techniques claims to allow safer workplaces, improved operational effectivity, and restoration of beneficial supplies, supporting a round battery worth chain. Based in 2023 and primarily based in Gothenburg, DREV has acquired assist 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 deliver many years of expertise in scaling advanced manufacturing and industrial applied sciences.
- Sosa led engineering and operations initiatives at Panasonic Vitality Company of North America, the place she oversaw the commissioning of the primary 10 manufacturing traces and performed a key function 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 techniques from idea to commercialisation.
Battery manufacturing, recycling, and refining processes generate microscopic steel particles – generally known as “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 beneficial crucial metals.
DREV’s patented Vault system seems to handle this problem. Examined at a world-leading gigafactory, the Vault has reportedly demonstrated measurable enhancements in air high quality, lowered floor slipperiness, and recovered sources that will in any other case be misplaced.
With a whole bunch of gigafactories and recycling amenities beneath growth worldwide to fulfill the demand for clear power, the battery trade is positioned for speedy growth within the coming years.
On the similar time, rules such because the EU Battery Regulation and the Important Uncooked Supplies Act are elevating the bar for sustainability and circularity.
By capturing hazardous but beneficial black mud immediately on the supply, Vault enhances security, reduces waste, and boosts operational effectivity. What was as soon as thought-about 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 remedy actual industrial issues whereas driving systemic environmental advantages. DREV turns a hidden security and waste subject right into a round benefit – enabling gigafactories to get well crucial supplies, save water, defend employees, and adjust to the following step in sustainability requirements. That is precisely the form of industrial impression 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, broaden the business deployment, and set up Swedish manufacturing operations for its Vault Cellular and Stationary options – designed to guard employee well being and security, enhance manufacturing effectivity, and get well crucial metals akin to nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper.
The corporate may even set up manufacturing operations in Gothenburg for in-house manufacturing, whereas deploying its know-how in gigafactories and recycling amenities throughout Europe and North America, in addition to increasing its business operations in Nevada.
“This funding offers the sources we have to push the boundaries of our engineering roadmap. It would permit us to speed up product growth, scale our pre-series check fleets and refine the core applied sciences behind the Vault product vary, finally decreasing our time to market and guaranteeing the very best requirements of reliability and efficiency,” shared Thomas Tingelöf, CTO/COO and co-founder, DREV.
