Global demand for recycled metals is surging as sustainability goals aim to reduce metal production’s carbon footprint, which accounts for 12% of global CO2 emissions. To address this rising demand, METYCLE, a leading digital platform for international secondary metal trade, has secured €14.1M in Series A funding, led by 2150, with continued investment from DFF Ventures, Market One Capital, Partech, and Project A. This brings total funding to over €20M, though the valuation remains undisclosed.
The company will leverage these funds to enhance its data, software, and AI infrastructure for the metal recycling industry. METYCLE aims to transform the secondary metals sector by converting end-of-life metals from diverse products into precisely specified global commodities. This investment follows METYCLE’s remarkable growth since its previous funding round a year ago.
How METYCLE builds a sustainable future for metal recycling
Founded in Cologne in 2022 by Rafael Suchan (former CEO of Chiho Tiande in China and its German division Scholz Group) and Sebastian Brenner (founder of CheMondis), METYCLE arose from the founders’ belief in maximising the use of every kilogram of scrap metal. Their mission is to build the world’s most efficient and trusted marketplace for secondary metals.
The international secondary metal trade, characterised by sizable orders and lengthy shipping times, requires significant working capital. METYCLE has joined forces with Finmid to deliver financial solutions that tackle traders’ cash flow issues. Additionally, the company manages quality control and shipping procedures and provides live tracking to enhance trust and reliability.
Through the digitalisation of recycling processes, METYCLE seeks to improve material collection and reuse, reduce the need for primary raw material extraction, and contribute to a more sustainable, circular metals economy.
“Metal recycling is essential for transitioning to a carbon-neutral world. It ensures metal circularity and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95% compared to primary production,” says Rafael Suchan, co-founder of METYCLE. “Currently, more than one-third of global metal production comes from recycled metals, and METYCLE is making this industry more efficient and transparent through cutting-edge technology.”
The secondary metals trade faces significant challenges — it’s global yet fragmented, lacks transparency, and struggles with low trust levels. Recent regulations, including the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, have set new recycling targets requiring improved processes. The growing gap between supply and demand for high-quality scrap is a critical issue, with a projected 15 million tonne deficit by 2030. METYCLE tackles these challenges by streamlining the scrap metal trade, enabling continuous recycling while cutting CO2 emissions by over 60% without sacrificing quality.
Behind METYCLE: industry’s first data-driven metal recycling operations
The platform streamlines negotiations and tracking for suppliers while providing buyers with premium materials and flexible payment terms. METYCLE supports sustainability goals through its AI-powered technology by reducing reliance on CO2-intensive raw material extraction. The company’s AI-powered sorting system analyses recyclable metals’ physical and chemical properties in real-time. This automation improves recycling ratios and recovery rates while establishing more efficient local trade routes.
By combining market data with its sorting process, METYCLE’s platform identifies high-demand products early, optimising resource allocation. This approach improves upon the traditional metal recycling trade, which often relies on lengthy, carbon-intensive routes through significant hubs.
Rafael Suchan, co-founder of METYCLE, shared his vision for the company’s future with TFN: “METYCLE’s SmartSorting Hubs represent a significant leap for the industry, introducing the first data-driven metal recycling operations. Our AI-enabled sensors systematically examine each metal piece’s physical and chemical properties, enabling us to create product passports TrustTrack for each batch. This systematic data collection allows for regional screening and sorting, often eliminating the need for global shipping, and brings unprecedented transparency to the secondary metals industry.”
He continued: “This systematic data collection enables us to create product passports — TrustTrack — for each batch. Downstream recyclers and smelters can now know exactly what they’re receiving. This allows for regional screening and sorting, often eliminating the need for global shipping. Our TrustTrack system brings unprecedented transparency to the secondary metals industry.”
Speaking about plans, Suchan shared: “We aim to develop the largest B2B marketplace for international secondary metals trading. We’re achieving this by providing our customers — buyers and sellers of scrap and recycled metals — with tools that significantly streamline trading compared to traditional methods. We’re also investing heavily in our SmartSorting Hubs and TrustTrack certification, which combines hub data with AI analysis. This will expand our service offerings beyond the current B2B marketplace.”
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