BASF Battery Materials, part of the BASF chemicals group, said it started up its prototype metal refinery for battery recycling in Schwarzheide, Germany.
It plans to process end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery production scrap. It will recover valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper when scaling up the technology.
The German company regards the prototype metal refinery as another milestone in the construction of what it calls “Europe’s first co-located centre of battery materials production and recycling” in Schwarzheide.
The plant complements BASF’s existing cathode active materials plant and the battery recycling plant for the production of black mass, which is scheduled to start operations later this year. It will be the feedstock for the firm’s planned commercial hydrometallurgical refinery for battery recycling.
BASF is planning to establish a commercial-scale refinery in Europe in the next few years.
The company has said it expects an annual processing capacity of 15,000 tons of EV batteries and production scrap.
