Circu Li-ion’s Playbook for Hardware Startups: Why They Started with E-Scooter Batteries Before Targeting EVs

Hardware startups often fail by targeting the biggest market first. In a recent Category Visionaries episode, Circu Li-ion CEO Antoine Welter revealed a counterintuitive approach that helped them build a successful battery recycling business: start small to win big.

Finding the Right Entry Point

While the electric vehicle market might seem like the obvious target for battery recycling, Circu Li-ion chose a different path. “We focused on that market in beginning simply,” Antoine explains, referring to their initial focus on micro-mobility batteries from e-bikes and scooters.

This decision wasn’t driven by market size but by cycle time. As Antoine notes, “these batteries basically die twelve to 18 months after they entered the market. And if you look at a car battery, it takes a lot longer between let’s say five and eight years in an optimal case until they come out of the market.”

Building a Technology Library

This faster feedback cycle enabled Circu Li-ion to rapidly develop their core technology. “The key for us is because we’re a software hardware combo solution for us to build up our battery library,” Antoine explains. “So how do we make our robots smart enough to open a high variability of batteries?”

Their expansion strategy followed a careful progression: “We started off with micro mobility batteries. So e bikes and scooters, emo pad. Then we added power tools on demand from customers. Then we added electric car batteries, then we added drone batteries, energy storage batteries.”

Proving the Model

To validate their approach with enterprise customers, Circu Li-ion built their own facility in Germany. Antoine emphasizes why: “We’re not a paper startup… customers come, they see their own classically, they do a bigger pilot project with us before they visit us, so that they can really see their own batteries being processed.”

This commitment to practical demonstration helped overcome the inherent skepticism hardware startups face. Rather than promising future capabilities, they could show actual results with simpler battery types before tackling more complex ones.

Scaling Through Standardization

Instead of building massive centralized facilities, Circu Li-ion developed what Antoine calls “the McDonald’s of upcycling” – implementing their solution within existing infrastructure. “We set up the process, we provide the technology and the menu card, but then we roll out with recyclers and oems that they can implement our solution on their sites.”

This approach enabled rapid scaling while keeping capital requirements manageable. Each installation requires only 30 square meters of space, allowing them to expand through existing facilities rather than building new ones.

The Power of Starting Small

For hardware founders, Circu Li-ion’s journey offers a crucial lesson: starting with a smaller, faster-moving market can accelerate development and validation of core technology. By choosing micro-mobility batteries first, they could:

• Get real-world feedback in months rather than years
• Build credibility with successful deployments
• Develop and refine their technology with lower stakes
• Create a path to larger, more complex markets

Rather than immediately chasing the biggest opportunity, they built a foundation of proven technology and customer trust that positioned them for success in more demanding applications. Their story shows that in hardware, sometimes the fastest path to the enterprise market is starting with the smallest customer.