BASF To Open Battery Materials and Recycling Center in Germany

BASF has opened Europe’s first co-located center for battery material production and recycling in Schwarzheide, Germany. This state-of-the-art facility will comprise a high-performance cathode active materials production plant and a battery recycling plant, marking significant progress in closing the loop for the European battery value chain.
The new battery material production plant is the largest fully automated cathode active materials facility in Europe.

The plant is fully sold out for the next years and will provide tailored products to meet the specific requirements of cell manufacturers and automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) in Europe. According to BASF, the carbon footprint of the cathode active materials is significantly lower than the industry benchmark, thanks to the company’s proprietary efficient production technologies. These technologies encompass minimized energy consumption and a high proportion of renewable energy.

BASF already offers closed-loop solutions with recycled metals for cathode active materials in Asia and North America and is actively pursuing additional investments in Europe. Construction of the black mass production facility has begun, with operations scheduled to begin in 2024. This plant will mechanically process end-of-life batteries and waste from battery production, producing “black mass” containing crucial metals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese. These valuable metals can then be chemically recovered in an environmentally sustainable manner for the production of new cathode active materials.

The establishment of these two plants at BASF’s Schwarzheide site will expand the product portfolio and generate approximately 180 new job opportunities.

Innovative battery materials and research initiatives, including battery recycling, are funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Ministry of Economics, Labor, and Energy of the State of Brandenburg as part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for Batteries (Funding codes 16BZF101A/B).