Global Cleantech 100 sustainability list includes 11 innovative recyclers

The Global Cleantech 100 is a comprehensive listing of what the Cleantech Group believes to be the most promising private companies in the cleantech ecosystem. The report  introduces the innovators with outstanding technologies, original business models, and bold plans that can enable the world to act on the ever-increasing climate and environmental crisis.

The list is created by a nomination process, after which Cleantech's expert panelists evaluate, synthesize, and tabulate the many hundreds of company nominations. This is combined with in-depth analysis from the Cleantech Group research team.

This year, 11 recycling companies made the list in the Waste & Recycling category.

Battery and e-waste recyclers

Cyclic Materials: A circular supply chain service platform facilitating the recycling of magnet-containing products and critical metals, enabling the creation of a domestic supply chain for REEs through an economic and sustainable magnet recycling process.

cylib: cylib offers an innovative and sustainable technology for lithium-ion battery recycling. cylib's process is filed for patent and not only consumes less water but also uses carbon dioxide.

Li Industries: The company's direct recycling process isolates the various components from spent lithium-ion batteries and regenerates them into commercial-grade battery materials for reuse.

Nth Cycle: The company's market-ready Oyster system uses patented electro-extraction technology to recover critical metals from end-of-life batteries, e-waste, scrap metal, and mined ore right where they're sourced in North America. 

Recycling sorting and tracking solutions

AMP: AMP is a manufacturer of waste sorting AI-guided material recovery facilities. The company's AI-powered automation allows real-time material characterization and configuration to capture the most value from material streams.

Circulor: Circulor produces traceability software for materials in industrial supply chains, including e-waste, battery materials, and plastic. Circulor provides proof of companies' recycling initiatives and helps deploy closed loops for products.

Greyparrot: makes its second consecutive year on the list. The company's AI platform enables materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to maximize resource recovery while helping brands and manufacturers design more recyclable packaging. 

Sortera: Sortera uses its patented artificial intelligence technology for production of low-cost high-quality metal alloys for domestic manufacturing.

Industrial carbon capture companies

Greenore: Greenore's focuses on utilizing slag, carbon dioxide, and waste steam to produce products such as filler for paper, paint, plastics, and rubber. The company's vision is to capture and sequester greenhouse gas emissions with valuable utilizations. 

Neustark: Neustark turns demolished concrete into a carbon sink. The company has created and deployed a solution that mineralizes carbon dioxide in demolished concrete aggregate and permanently stores it, removing it from the atmosphere.

Solar panel recycling

SolarCycle: Solar technology recycling services that transports, sorts, and recycles panels when they reach their end-of-life. The company safely turns older solar systems into new, valuable materials needed for the next generation of solar panels.

"2025 will be remembered as a transformative year for cleantech. The bar has gone up for what kind of level of potential novelty, uniqueness, and cost improvements might be attractive," says Richard Youngman, CEO of Cleantech Group. "The Global Cleantech 100 highlights innovators who are building the foundation for a sustainable and economically viable future."