BASF opened one of Europe's largest lithium-ion battery recycling facilities, which will process up to 15,000 tons of used batteries annually, according to Batteries News.
The new plant, based in Schwarzheide, Germany, can handle materials from about 40,000 electric vehicle batteries each year. This is an important development for European battery production, helping reduce dependence on mining raw materials while meeting economic goals.
The facility specializes in producing "black mass," an intermediate material in the battery recycling process. When EV batteries reach the end of their useful life, they still contain valuable metals (such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese) that can be extracted and reused in new batteries.
Battery recycling benefits both consumers and the environment. Keeping hazardous battery components out of landfills prevents toxic chemicals from leaching into groundwater and soil.
Recycling also reduces the need for destructive mining operations that often damage the environment and raise human rights concerns in resource-rich regions.
Reusing these valuable metals could help bring down the cost of electric vehicles. As more batteries enter the recycling stream, manufacturers become less vulnerable to raw material price fluctuations and supply chain disruptions that can drive up costs for consumers.
The Schwarzheide facility works with BASF's other battery-related operations at the same site, including Europe's first fully automated cathode active material production plant and an experimental metals extraction facility that processes recycled battery materials.
"Our new Black Mass plant is another proof for our commitment to the Battery Materials and Recycling industry, which remains to be one of the most significant growth opportunities in the chemical industry and for BASF Battery Materials," said Daniel Schönfelder, president of BASF's battery materials division.
"It will become a cornerstone of our offerings to our customers to increase raw materials self-sufficiency and comply with the EU Battery Regulation," Schönfelder added in the company's press release.
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